Kenneth Jeyaretnam told to put up 8th Pofma correction notice, under probe for possible contempt of court offence
Source: Straits Times
Article Date: 05 Jul 2024
Author: Ng Wei Kai
Reform Party chief also under investigation for possible contempt of court offence.
Reform Party chief Kenneth Jeyaretnam has been directed to put up his eighth correction notice under Singapore’s fake news law for false statements on government land sale prices and the transparency of its endowment and trust funds.
The direction was issued under the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (Pofma) on the instruction of Transport Minister and Second Minister for Finance Chee Hong Tat, the Ministry of Finance (MOF) said on July 4.
It added that Mr Jeyaretnam is also under investigation by the Pofma Office for possible offences under Pofma, and by the police under the Administration of Justice (Protection) Act 2016, which governs contempt of court.
The authorities have been communicating with Mr Jeyaretnam since April and have invited him to assist with the investigations, it said. He has so far remained out of Singapore and has not attended any interviews to assist with investigations, it added.
The latest correction notice is directed at a Facebook post Mr Jeyaretnam made on June 15 claiming that the Government intentionally sets artificially high land prices for sale to the Housing Board.
It also claimed that endowment and trust funds are not transparent, and that the Government maintains a large land bank of heritage properties to keep land prices as high as possible, and preferably rising rapidly, as part of its strategy to boost reserves.
These statements are untrue, said MOF.
On the first claim, MOF said the price for sale of state land to HDB is not set by the Government.
Rather, it is the chief valuer that determines the sale price and fixes it with reference to the fair market value, it added.
The chief valuer is an independent office whose appointment requires the President’s concurrence, and whose professional assessment is made without influence from the Government, said MOF.
It determines the sale price based on established valuation principles, taking into consideration relevant resale transactions on the open market, and other relevant factors such as specific parameters of the site, it added.
MOF said: “Such valuation principles are similarly adopted by professional valuers in the private sector.”
On Mr Jeyaretnam’s claim that endowment and trust funds are not transparent, MOF said top-ups to the endowment and trust funds can be found in the revenue and expenditure estimates, also known as the Budget book, as well as the Supply Bill.
These are given to Parliament for approval.
MOF said the amount of top-up to each endowment or trust fund can be found in publicly accessible financial statements published by either the Government or other relevant public bodies.
Key expenditures making up the total outlay of each fund are also listed within the respective financial statement of each fund, it said.
On his final claim, MOF said the Government’s approach to land management is based on Singapore’s planning and development needs, and not to maximise land sales proceeds nor to increase the value of the reserves.
It added that certain properties in Singapore are not redeveloped but conserved because of their heritage and/or historical value.
Mr Jeyaretnam will be required to carry a correction notice, which states that the post contains false statements of fact and provide a link to the Government’s clarification.
MOF said: “This will allow readers to read both versions and draw their own conclusions.”
This is the eighth correction that has been issued to Mr Jeyaretnam for 21 online posts, MOF added.
Mr Jeyaretnam’s website, The Ricebowl Singapore, and his accounts on social media platforms Facebook, Instagram, X (formerly known as Twitter), and LinkedIn have also been designated Declared Online Locations under Pofma since December 2023 for carrying three or more different false statements that were subject to active Pofma directions.
Owners of Declared Online Locations are unable to profit from their websites, and the pages must carry a notice identifying them as such.
The notice also warns users that the owner has a history of communicating falsehoods online.
MOF said despite these actions, Mr Jeyaretnam has continued to make false and misleading statements about government policies and the operations of public agencies. This is despite publicly available facts and having the falsehoods and their corresponding facts pointed out to him, it added.
MOF said: “He has repeatedly made false statements, even when the facts are clear and should be known to him.”
Source: Straits Times © SPH Media Limited. Permission required for reproduction.
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