Roy Ngerng

After graduation, Ngerng worked for six months with Autism Partnership, an organisation working with families with autistic children. Ngerng then joined the Health Promotion Board’s Communicable Diseases department for six years, working on campaigns and presenting at international conferences, and winning an Employee of the Year award for innovation in 2011. In 2012, he joined Tan Tock Seng Hospital as a contract patient coordinator, where he fronted a campaign to promote the understanding of the lives of HIV-infected people.

In 2018, Ngerng took part in an Al Jazeera documentary, Singapore: The House that Lee Built. The documentary is Ngerng's first media appearance since his participation in the 2015 Singapore general election and reveals a snippet of Ngerng's life in Taiwan.

Since October 2016, Ngerng has been residing in Taipei after he was terminated from his previous job.

In August 2015, Ngerng was part of the Reform Party six-member team contesting Ang Mo Kio Group Representation Constituency in the 2015 general election.

On 12 January 2015, the High Court ordered Ngerng to pay Lee S$29,000 for costs of legal fees and related expenses; with damages yet to be settled. After missing the payment deadline twice, Ngerng paid on 6 February after a public spat with his lawyer, M Ravi.

On 12 June 2015, Ngerng's application to be represented by a Queen's Counsel in the damages hearing scheduled for 1 to 3 July 2015 was denied by the High Court and he was ordered to pay costs of S$6,000 to Lee's lawyers from Drew & Napier.

The damages hearing proceeded as scheduled from 1 to 3 July 2015 with Ngerng representing himself and Lee being represented by Singh. Citing a lack of funds, Ngerng represented himself after dismissing his third lawyer in this case - George Hwang of George Hwang LLC. Ngerng's first lawyer in the case, M Ravi, was suspended by the Law Society for mental health reasons During a hearing, Ngerng broke down in tears while he was being cross-examined by Singh.

The hearing prompted much comment from international press freedom advocacy groups and a legal opinion in favour of minimal damages against defendant from the International Commission of Jurists: "It is humbly submitted that a decision awarding a disproportionately high amount of damages to the plaintiff in this case would cast a chilling effect on freedom of expression in Singapore". The High Court requested both parties to make written submissions on their respective cases by 31 August 2015. No date was given for the court's decision.

On 17 December 2015, the court handed down a judgement ordering Ngerng to pay S$100,000 in general damages and S$50,000 in aggravated damages. Ngerng, through his lawyer Eugene Thuraisingam, proposed to pay the S$150,000 in instalments. Lee granted Ngerng his request on the condition that Ngerng paid the S$30,000 in hearing costs immediately, i.e., by 16 March 2016. Ngerng is expected to repay S$100 a month from 1 April 2016 onwards over five years until 1 April 2021 when instalments are increased to S$1,000 until the full sum has been paid by the year 2033. Lee also rejected Ngerng's request to reimburse part of the damages, i.e., S$36,000.

After Amos Yee was introduced to Ngerng's blog by Singapore Democratic Party members, Yee was convinced by Ngerng's arguments. This was one of the inspiring factors behind Yee publishing a controversial video in 2015 criticising Lee Kuan Yew and Christianity. Yee said that he used evidence from Ngerng's blog posts in the 2015 video.

On 10 June 2014, Ngerng was sacked from his job at Tan Tock Seng Hospital for "conduct incompatible with the values and standards expected of employees" and for misusing resources for personal pursuits. Ngerng described the sacking as "politically motivated". NGO Maruah expressed concern on the manner of punishment and the reasons for doing so. In the same month, a 71-year-old man, Loh Thiam Hock, was jailed for four weeks for vandalising public property in support of Ngerng,

On 15 May 2014, Ngerng made a post entitled "Where Your CPF Money Is Going: Learning From The City Harvest Trial" on his blog the Heart Truths. Within the post, Ngerng created a chart which mapped the relationships between Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, the Central Provident Fund (CPF), the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), Temasek Holdings and the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC). Ngerng claimed there was an "uncanny resemblance" between this chart and another chart by news agency Channel News Asia regarding the relationship among City Harvest Church leaders, who were being charged with misappropriating funds.

On 29 May 2014, Lee filed a defamation lawsuit against Ngerng. In response, Ngerng made an online plea for help in settling his legal fees through crowdfunding, leaving instructions on how to transfer money to his bank account. Within a week, Ngerng said that he had raised more than his targeted S$70,000. It was later reported that Ngerng had managed to raise more than S$110,000 from over a thousand contributions. While Lee did not address the case directly, he wrote on Facebook that "freedom of speech does not come free from the need to be responsible for what one says, either online or offline". Singaporean writer Catherine Lim has criticised the lawsuit against Ngerng.

On 17 June, Ngerng's defence was filed in court by his lawyer, M Ravi, who stated that Ngerng had never intended to accuse Lee of criminal misappropriation of CPF funds. In July 2014, Lee applied for summary judgment for the case. In a 4 August affidavit, Ngerng argued that his blog post had been misunderstood, and that he was merely asking for more transparency and accountability for CPF monies. In August, it was also reported that Ngerng was working part-time at his father's chai tow kway stall. At a 19 September closed hearing, Lee's lawyers asserted that Ngerng had "no defence" and asked for an injunction, while Ngerng's lawyer, M Ravi, argued that the blog post was not defamatory if read in its entirety.

On 7 November 2014, the High Court found Ngerng liable of defamation with damages to be assessed, which was the first such ruling in Singapore over a purely online article. The court ruled that there was "no triable defence" and "no doubt that it is defamatory to suggest that the plaintiff is guilty of criminal misappropriation". An injunction against Ngerng was granted, barring him from publishing future similar accusations regarding Lee and the CPF. Ngerng expressed disappointment at the verdict, but maintained that he would "still continue to speak up on the CPF and other issues that concern Singaporeans".

On 21 May 2014, Ngerng applied to be a Nominated Member of Parliament (NMP), with the proposal being submitted by fellow blogger Han Hui Hui. Ngerng was ultimately not selected as an NMP in August 2014.

Ngerng was a speaker at the Return Our CPF protest organised by blogger Han Hui Hui at Hong Lim Park on 7 June 2014. In his speech, he demanded transparency and accountability for CPF monies. Organizers claimed a turnout of 6,000, while international news agencies reported about 2,000. Ngerng also spoke at the second (which drew "hundreds") and third Return Our CPF protests at the same venue on 12 July and 23 August 2014.

A controversial incident occurred on 27 September 2014 when another Return Our CPF protest, again organised by Han Hui Hui, took place at Hong Lim Park at the same time as the YMCA Proms @ the Park event, a charity carnival attended by the elderly and disabled, featuring performances by children. Agence France-Presse described Ngerng and Han as having "led a march ... despite having only a permit to stage a rally at a fixed spot". The Straits Times described that Han had led the protesting group in "marching around the park" together with Ngerng, with the group "heckling special needs children and confronting" Minister of State Trade and Industry Teo Ser Luck, who attended the YMCA event. A few days later, Teo confirmed that Ngerng had issued an apology for the disruption; Teo himself apologised due to his "presence" causing the protesters to "go after" him.

In a joint statement, the National Parks Board (NParks) and the Singapore Police Force (SPF) said that "each event was allocated a lawn" and that Han did not heed their advice "to speak at the allocated space". They described that "Han's group encroached into the YMCA event area, holding placards and shouting slogans, disrupted performances and frightened participants, including special needs children who were performing at the charity event". NParks and SPF also said that final approval to hold the event was given to YMCA on 9 September 2014, while Han's application for the protest was received and approved on 22 September 2014. The YMCA stated that NParks on 11 April 2014 had acknowledged their intent to hold the carnival.

On 27 October 2014, in relation to the YMCA event disruption, Ngerng, Han, and four others were charged for public nuisance, which can incur a maximum fine of S$1,000; Ngerng and Han were also charged for organising a demonstration without approval, which can incur a maximum fine of S$5,000. In October 2015, Ngerng pleaded guilty to charges of public nuisance and organising a demonstration without approval. His lawyer, Eugene Thuraisingam, said he committed the offence because of ignorance. Ngerng was fined S$1,900.

Ngerng started his sociopolitical blog, The Heart Truths, in 2012. He was found liable in October 2014 of defaming Lee Hsien Loong, the Prime Minister of Singapore, in a blog post. Ngerng is also noted for his protests at Hong Lim Park campaigning against Singapore's Central Provident Fund. As a result of the events surrounding him, Ngerng was ranked by Yahoo Singapore as the top Singapore newsmaker of 2014.

Ngerng is gay, as stated in his personal blog, My Right To Love, in 2011. He has written on topics related to the LGBT community, such as relationship woes and AIDS.

Ngerng's father is a chai tow kway seller while his mother is a retired factory worker. Ngerng lived with them and his younger sister in a four-room Housing Development Board flat in Sembawang. Ngerng also has an elder sister. Before 2000, the Ngerng family lived in a two-room flat near the now-defunct Hong Dao Primary School, which Ngerng had attended. Ngerng's family were unaware of his blogging activities until the events of May 2014.

Roy Ngerng Yi Ling (traditional Chinese: 鄞義林 ; simplified Chinese: 鄞义林 ; pinyin: Yín Yìlín ; born May 9, 1981), better known as Roy Ngerng, is a Taiwan-based Singaporean activist and blogger. Ngerng moved to Taiwan in late 2016.