Opposition politician Kenneth Jeyaretnam has been served a third POFMA (Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act) correction direction for social media posts accusing, among other things, the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) of only "cracking down" after facing foreign pressure.
The Ministry of Law (MinLaw) issued the correction direction on Aug 22 for posts on Facebook and Twitter (rebranded to X) made on Aug 18, relating to three points.
No foreign pressure on arrest of 10 foreigners
The first point that the MinLaw issued the correction direction for were regarding Facebook and Twitter posts that said the Aug 15 arrest of 10 foreign nations for forgery and money laundering offences was a result of pressure placed on Singapore by China and its foreign minister Wang Yi during a recent visit.
MinLaw said that the police had "identified the suspects through intelligence probes and extensive investigations", including the analysis of suspicious transactions reports.
The operation and planning of the arrest was the result of several months of work, and not "at the behest or because of any foreign party".
MinLaw said that no foreign parties had been told of the cases prior to the arrests.
CPIB probe not due to foreign pressure
MinLaw also said that Jeyaretnam had made a false statement on his Facebook post of Aug 18.
Jeyaretnam had said that the CPIB probe into Minister For Transport S Iswaran, who is currently on leave, and businessman Ong Beng Seng was a result of foreign pressure.
MinLaw said that the facts related to the probe had been stated publicly on multiple occasions by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, and Minister for Education Chan Chun Sing.
The CPIB had been investigating a separate matter, and had come across some information concerning Iswaran, then looked into the matter.
CPIB's investigation into the two men was not a result of foreign pressure.
Rental rates not locked in for nine years
MinLaw also refuted allegations made on Jeyaretnam's Facebook post that said that Minister for Law and Minister for Home Affairs K Shanmugam, and Minister for Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishnan's rents at 26 and 31 Ridout Road were "locked in" for nine years.
Instead it said that the tenancies and rentals of both properties were renewable every two to three years, based on prevailing market value.
When the tenancies of both properties were up for renewal after the initial three year period, the reevaluations were carried out by professional valuers, in order to peg the renals to prevailing markets rates.
The 26 Ridout Road property was renewed for three years in June 2021, with its rent maintained at $26,500 per month.
The 31 Ridout Road property was renewed in October 2022 for three years, with the rent increasing by $1,000 to $20,000.
Second POFMA in August
This is the second POFMA correction direction that Jeyaretnam has received in August, and the third overall.
The previous two POFMA correction directions also involved corrections of statements he had made regarding the rental and tenancies of the two Ridout Road properties.
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Top image via Shin Min Daily News & Kenneth Jeyaretnam/Facebook