Police investigation into SPH inflated circulation numbers case ends with no further action taken

The Singapore police investigation into the alleged inflated circulation numbers of SPH Media has concluded with no further action to be taken, according to a statement issued on Apr. 29, 2026.

The statement read:

"The investigation looked into the employees and directors (former and current) of SPH Media for offences including but not limited to falsification of accounts and cheating under Sections 477A and 417 of the Penal Code.

The investigations showed that there was no basis for bringing any criminal charges. The police, in consultation with the Attorney-General's Chambers, will be taking no further action."

What happened

Back in 2023, it emerged that an internal review by SPH Media found that its daily circulation figures were inflated by between 85,000 and 95,000 copies daily across all of its publications.

The publications included, The Straits Times, Business Times, Lianhe Zaobao, Shin Min Daily News, Tamil Murasu, Berita Harian, and others.

The inconsistencies in reporting the data accounted for about 10 to 12 per cent of the reported daily average circulation at the time.

The internal review was initiated shortly after SPH Media was spun off in December 2021 from its mainboard-listed company Singapore Press Holdings (SPH).

It then became a not-for-profit entity – a company limited by guarantee.

The internal review of internal processes, including the reporting of circulation data, was conducted in March 2022, and "some inconsistencies in the reporting of the data were discovered".

The review covered the period from September 2020 to March 2022.

SPH Media did not state for how long these practices had been going on.

Police report made

Following the internal review, SPH Media Group filed a police report over inflated circulation figures, following a recommendation by its board’s audit and risk committee.

It did so as some of its observations "potentially constitute offences".

SPH Media Group added that it would fully cooperate with the police in their investigations.

It also stated that it would act on the committee's recommendations for benchmark reporting and further enhance its risk management practices in the coming months.

Then-Minister for Communications and Information Josephine Teo fielded questions over the inflated figures in parliament.

She said circulation numbers were not a key consideration regarding the government's reason for providing funds to SPH Media Trust, amounting to S$900 million over five years.

The Ministry of Digital Development and Information issued a statement on the matter on the same day:

"The Ministry of Communications and Information (former name of MDDI) had said previously that the matter in the Parliamentary Question concerning SPH Media had been referred to the Singapore Police Force (SPF) for further investigations. In light of SPF’s finding, there are no further actions for MDDI.

In any case, SPH Media has since November 2023 implemented a new methodology to compute circulation numbers, which was endorsed by an expert panel at the World Association of News Publishers (WAN-IFRA).

SPH Media has also improved internal management of deal structure and pricing approval procedures, and introduced measures to enhance data accuracy and compliance."