In his blog, he had accused the PM of being a "thief" and criminally misappropriating monies paid by citizens to the state-administered Central Provident Fund.

[5] Ngerng states that his interest in people and their interactions started in primary school when he witnessed instances of racism.

[4] Ngerng majored in sociology at the National University of Singapore, where he participated in its community service club helping autistic or hyperactive children and people with mental disorders.

[1][5] He was found liable in October 2014 of defaming Lee Hsien Loong, the Prime Minister of Singapore, in a blog post.

In his blog, he had accused the PM of being a "thief" and criminally misappropriating monies paid by citizens to the state-administered Central Provident Fund.

[4] 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.

[4] 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.

[10] 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.

[11] 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 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.

[21] Around this time, Singapore human rights non-governmental organisation Maruah called for Lee to rebut the points made in Ngerng's blog post.

[28] 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.

[4] 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".

[34] 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.

[36] On 7 November, 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.

[6] 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".

[6] 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.

[39] On 12 June, 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.

[42] 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".

[52][53] A controversial incident occurred on 27 September 2014 when another Return Our CPF protest, again organised by Han Hui Hui,[54] 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.

He later studied at Mayflower Secondary School and then Serangoon Junior College before going to the National University of Singapore to major in sociology.

During his junior college and university years, he excelled and got the top grade in English literature, Geography and arts.