Wake Up S'pore founder to plead guilty for defaming KKH, with woman who submitted false miscarriage story

The founder of alternative news site Wake Up Singapore (WUSG), Ariffin Iskandar Sha Ali Akbar, and a woman who submitted to WUSG a false miscarriage story are both set to plead guilty to defaming KK Women's and Children's Hospital (KKH).

Ma Su Nandar Htwe, a 28-year-old Singapore permanent resident from Myanmar, and Ariffin, a 27-year-old Singaporean, are both set to plead guilty on Aug. 26, 2024, according to CNA.

Ariffin was given the plead-guilty date on Jul. 3.

The woman indicated that she would plead guilty on Jul. 2, a day earlier.

They each face one charge of criminal defamation.

Those charged with criminal defamation can be sentenced to up to two years in jail, or fined, or both.

Fabricated miscarriage story

The charges concern an unsubstantiated article published by WUSG, featuring a fabricated miscarriage story submitted by Htwe.

Back in Mar. 23, 2022, WUSG published an article featuring Htwe's claims about having a miscarriage at KKH.

In a post that has since been taken down, Htwe accused the hospital staff of displaying a lack of professionalism and dumping out her dead foetus with the medical waste.

The hospital lodged a police report two days after the article was out.

It was revealed upon police investigations that the story was largely fabricated and that the allegations in WUSG's article were untrue.

On Mar. 25, 2022, WUSG shared that the woman had lied, and added that they had received doctored documents from her. 

Two days later on Mar. 27, 2022, the Ministry of Health (MOH) instructed the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (POFMA) Office to issue a correction direction to WUSG.

Ariffin was charged on Apr. 24, 2024, for his involvement in the publication of the story.

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Top photo from WUSG.