SINGAPORE: Business publication The Edge Singapore apologised to Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam and Manpower Minister Tan See Leng on Tuesday (Dec 24) over a Bloomberg article that The Edge reproduced on its website.
The article, titled Singapore Mansion Deals Are Increasingly Shrouded in Secrecy, was the subject of a Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (POFMA) correction order issued to several entities on Monday.
The article addressed Good Class Bungalow (GCB) transactions in Singapore and included multiple statements that the government later identified as falsehoods.
Mr Shanmugam and Dr Tan, who were mentioned in the article, considered the piece libellous and indicated on Dec 16 – four days after the article was first published on Bloomberg – that they would be issuing Letters of Demand to Bloomberg and other outlets that reproduced the article in whole or in part.
On Tuesday, The Edge said it recognised that the article it reproduced and an accompanying Facebook post “meant and were understood to mean that (Mr Shanmugam/Dr Tan) took advantage of there being no checks and balances or disclosure requirements in purchasing a property in a non-transparent manner and that (Mr Shanmugam/Dr Tan) wanted to hide (their) transaction(s) and avoid scrutiny, including about the possibility of money laundering”.
The Facebook post read: “Bloomberg says more people buy homes with trusts, hiding owners’ identities.”
The Edge admitted and acknowledged that the “allegations are false and completely without foundation”.
It also apologised to the two ministers for the “distress and embarrassment” that the article and the Facebook post caused them.
“We have removed the article and the post and undertake not to make any allegations or publish any articles and/or posts containing any allegations to the same or similar effect,” said The Edge.
CNA has contacted The Edge, as well as Mr Shanmugam and Dr Tan, for further comment.
Source: CNA
