Terry Xu & The Online Citizen Asia Hit With POFMA Correction Orders Over False Claims Against Police
On Sunday (7 May), the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) instructed the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation (POFMA) office to issue Terry Xu and The Online Citizen Asia (TOCA) with correction directions.
This is in response to Xu and TOCA posting false allegations against the police regarding an incident in 2021.
Xu and TOCA will have to carry a correction notice alongside their publications, MHA stated.
Terry Xu & TOCA issued POFMA correction orders over allegations made in 2021 Yishun incident
MHA announced via a press release on Sunday (7 May) that the POFMA office has issued Xu and TOCA with correction directions for making false allegations.
These allegations against the police for an incident involving an elderly woman not wearing a mask in Yishun Avenue 5 on 17 May 2021, were made in the following posts:
- Xu’s Facebook post on 30 Apr
- TOCA’s article published on its website on 2 May
- TOCA’s social media posts via Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn on 2 May which reference the article
The claims were similar to another article back in May 2021, where The Online Citizen (TOC) alleged in publications that police officers reprimanded and taunted the elderly woman.
In reality, the police had received a call for assistance and were trying to help her on her way home.
Responding to the allegations, they issued two clarification statements regarding the incident on 19 May 2021 and 25 May 2021.
TOC also received a correction direction on 21 May 2021 under POFMA for publishing the claims. An appeal to set aside the direction was dismissed by the High Court in 2022.
Instead, they found that TOC’s statement was false, with the police expressing concern for the elderly woman with the aim of helping her.
“The Court observed that the original publisher could not, in good faith, have concluded that there was reprimanding or taunting by the police,” MHA affirmed in their press release.
Allegations unfounded & may affect public trust in SPF, says MHA
Xu and TOCA, however, have “persisted in making false allegations” regarding the case. This is in spite of the government’s clarifications and the High Court’s findings.
“These allegations are wholly unfounded,” MHA stated. “They may affect public trust and confidence in the Singapore Police Force.”
Xu’s attempts to rehash issues already considered by the Court, and exploit a case involving an elderly and vulnerable woman, are contemptible.
The ministry also noted that Xu had written the TOCA article, in addition to 59 others, to raise funds to pay off a fine he received from the courts for various offences, including contempt of court and POFMA offences.
“The Government takes a serious view of the deliberate communication of malicious falsehoods,” MHA added.
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Featured image adapted from Singapore Police Force on Facebook.
