ACS Old Boys' Association concerned about ST report of former ACS (I) student wanted by police

The Anglo-Chinese School (ACS) Old Boys' Association has objected to a Straits Times report about a group of suspects wanted by the police, allegedly in connection to a Cambodian scam ring.

Their concern? Among the 27 Singaporeans and seven Malaysians identified by name by ST, only one of the suspects mentioned his former school.

Finan Siow was identified as a "former ACS (I)" student by ST in their graphic included in the story, possibly referring to ACS (Independent).

Some of the other suspects had other added details, like "criminal history" and "legal trouble".

Some suspects had no such details.

But only Siow was identified by his former school.

Letter to ST

In a letter to ST’s editor-in-chief, seen by Mothership, the OBA said it recognised the importance of factual reporting.

However, the OBA said the added detail under Siow's name, together with the other details like "criminal history", "creates an unnecessary and unfair association between the school and indicators of criminal conduct”.

The letter added:

"Although each caption may be factually accurate in isolation, the juxtaposition suggests that being a former student of ACS (I) is a noteworthy trait of comparable significance to having a criminal record.

This framing deliberately misleads readers to assume a correlation or worse, that there is prejudiced reporting by singling out the school. This has caused understandable concern among our Alumni and the broader school community."

The OBA urged ST to either consider removing the school's name, or applying a consistent approach all the individuals mentioned, in future mentions.

"This would help ensure balanced reporting and avoid any misleading implications by a publication that is as esteemed as our national broadsheet, which is funded by tax payers, such as our members."

A search on Redsportsg Instagram revealed that a youth by the name of Finan Siow played rugby for ACS (I) in a match back in 2017, scoring a try that helped his team to victory over Raffles Institution.

Reporting on educational background not unheard of

The media reporting on the educational backgrounds of persons of interest, especially those allegedly involved in criminal activities, is not unheard of.

Previously, ST reported that the Singaporean man, Malone Lam Yu Xuan, had enrolled in Unity Secondary School in Choa Chu Kang in 2017, before he was allegedly involved in one of the largest cryptocurrency thefts in U.S. history in August 2024.

The 21-year-old and some others are accused of stealing bitcoin valued at more than US$240 million (S$312.4 million).

Lam, who has been characterised as a crypto whizz-kid in some quarters, told U.S. investigators that he had dropped out of secondary school when he was between 13 and 14 years old.

Legal documents showed that Lam had been living in the U.S. on an expired tourist visa.

Top image via ST and Google Maps.