A man has apologised on social media for uploading onto Facebook a doctored newspaper headline on the verdict of the City Harvest case, Chinese-language evening daily Shin Min Daily News reported.

The man, Neo Aik Chau wrote on his personal Facebook page on Tuesday, Feb. 6: "I was wrong! I am sorry! It was unintentional!"

"I spoke frankly without thinking," he wrote in Chinese. "I swear not to post anything like this again! Please forgive me!"

He added that he had "truly made a mistake", but had fairness and justice in mind.

On Monday, Feb. 5, Home Affairs and Law Minister K. Shanmugam told Parliament that the Attorney-General's Chambers (AGC) considers this a case of contempt by scandalising the courts.

The AGC had contacted Neo about his doctored headline post.

More than one apology

Even as Neo did not mention Shanmugam or the AGC, he apologised on at least two other Facebook groups on Tuesday.

In one of them, he said: "I was wrong! But I was really not scandalising the court! It was just a personal opinion!"

According to SMDN, Neo used a mobile application to write the new headline: "I'd only meant to put it on the Facebook group as a talking point, and did not have malicious intent. I didn't think it would be reposted."

He said he had been intrigued by chit chat about the City Harvest verdict and felt inspired to do something about it.

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