Correction directions under the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (POFMA) were issued to opposition politician Kenneth Jeyaretnam, Thamil Selvan, and online magazine Jom.
In a press release on Sunday (Jul. 16), the Ministry of Law (MinLaw) said that the three of them had published articles as well as social media posts with false statements about the Ridout Road case.
K. Jeyaretnam and Thamil Selvan
Second Minister for Law Edwin Tong instructed for correction directions to be issued to Jeyaretnam and Thamil for falsely stating that the Singapore Land Authority (SLA) gave the contract to renovate 26 Ridout Road and/or 31 Ridout Road to home interior and renovation company Livspace because the CEO of the company is Law Minister K Shanmugam's son.
Where were these statements published?
On Jul. 2, 2023, Jeyaretnam, who is secretary-general of the opposition Reform Party, published an article on his website The Ricebowl Singapore, titled "Will SLA issue a statement denying the rumours that they have awarded any contracts to Shanmugam’s son’s company?".
The article was also shared on his Twitter page.
On Jul. 1, 2023, Thamil uploaded a Facebook post with similar statements.
Clarifications on the false statements
According to MinLaw, Tong, who is also the Minister for Culture, Community and Youth, had said during the Jul. 3 parliamentary sitting that neither Livspace nor Shanmugam's son was appointed by SLA to carry out works for 26 Ridout Road or 31 Ridout Road.
The ministry added:
"As with its approach for other state properties, SLA had engaged an external consultant to assess the works needed to be carried out for the two properties. Thereafter, contracts to carry out the works were awarded to separate contractors through open tenders.
SLA did not award any contract to Livspace to carry out works to 26 Ridout Road or 31 Ridout Road. SLA has not had any transactions with Livspace for these or other properties."
As required by the correction directions, Jeyaretnam and Thamil will be required to publish a correction notice on their website, Twitter page, and Facebook page respectively to state that their posts contain false statements of fact.
Jom— an online magazine in Singapore
In a separate press release, MinLaw and the Ministry of Communications and Information (MCI) said that Jom published an article under its "Singapore This Week" column on Jul. 7, 2023.
The article made these statements:
- Senior Minister Teo Chee Hean did not respond to questions concerning the issue of actual or apparent conflicts of interest and possible breach of the code of conduct for ministers.
- Teo did not go beyond replying that it is more important to observe the spirit rather than just the letter of the code.
- SLA spent more than S$1 million on the renovation for 26 Ridout Road and 31 Ridout Road because the ministers were to be the tenants.
- The government caused Instagram to geo-block a post by Charles Yeo.
Tong and Minister for Communications and Information Josephine Teo have instructed for correction directions to be issued to Jom.
Clarifications on the false statements
On SM Teo
MinLaw stated that Jom's article "omits important information" from what Teo said in parliament on Jul. 3, 2023.
Teo had "expressly clarified" that he meant it was important to observe the spirit as well as the letter of the code.
He also said that Shanmugam had recused himself, and this meant that he no longer had any duty in the matter.
"There could thus be no potential or actual conflict of interest."
Teo had explained how Shanmugam had removed himself from the chain of command and decision-making process entirely in the case of 26 Ridout Road.
Teo also highlighted that the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) had established, as part of its independent investigation, that no matter was raised by SLA to MinLaw and hence to any of the ministers during the entire rental process.
On SLA spending more than S$1 million
According to MinLaw, it is untrue that SLA spent more than S$1 million on the renovation for 26 Ridout Road and 31 Ridout Road because the ministers were to be the tenants.
"The identity of the tenants had no bearing on the amount spent by SLA on the works it carried out on 26 Ridout Road and 31 Ridout Road.
The article implies that this sum was unusually large, and omits important information that the works done by SLA were consistent with SLA’s general practice, and were assessed to be necessary in the circumstances, as explained by Second Minister for Law Edwin Tong in Parliament on Jul. 3, 2023."
SLA invests a significant amount in "maintaining conserved properties" such as 26 Ridout Road and 31 Ridout Road, said MinLaw.
"A key reason for the cost is the nature of the conservation requirements for such properties, which are much older than the average property in Singapore," it added.
The details of these conservation requirements were also "spoken at length in parliament" by Tong.
While the maintenance works are done in periodic cycles, MinLaw said that SLA does them in the lead up to a confirmed tenancy where practical.
This is to avoid disrupting existing tenants and to ensure that the costs can be recovered from the prospective tenant.
SLA has published information showing that similar and even larger amounts have been spent by SLA on other Black and White bungalows in a manner consistent with conservation requirements.
In the case of 26 Ridout Road and 31 Ridout Road, most of the costs incurred by SLA were for works that external consultants had determined to be necessary, in light of the condition of the properties and to comply with the relevant conservation requirements.
The remaining costs were incurred as part of the usual works done before the commencement of a tenancy to ensure that the property is habitable, said MinLaw.
On the government causing Instagram to geo-block Charles Yeo's post
MCI said that it is untrue that the government caused Instagram to geo-block a post by Charles Yeo.
"The government did not issue any directions or requests on this matter to Meta, Instagram's parent company, that caused Instagram to geo-block the post in question," added MCI.
As required by the correction directions, Jom will be required to publish correction notices on its website and social media pages, stating that the article contains false statements of fact.
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Top images via K Jeyaretnam/FB & Jom/FB.