Six hour after posting an apology for "republishing (an) incorrect statement", TR Emeritus (TRE) has published another statement.

This time, it sought to explain why they never intended to misrepresent facts.

In case you missed it, TRE published an article based on a writer's submission which claimed that Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat's hospital bill would be paid for with tax-payer's money, a claim which the authorities called a "blatant" and "vicious" lie.

In its latest Facebook statement, TRE explained that they believed that the facts provided by the writer were true because "there was indeed a scheme (in the past) when civil servants was fully covered by the states for injuries and sickness during working hours."

The scheme has been changed since 2011.

TRE then expressed disappointment that the authorities had accused them of misleading the public.

The full statement is below:

Reactions to the statement was split on the Facebook post, with some blasting TRE's response:

While others believe anti-TRE comments were generated by pro-establishment supporters:

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