CORRECTION DIRECTIONS TO JOM
In a separate press release, MinLaw and the Ministry of Communications and Information (MCI) said Mr Tong and Minister for Communications and Information Josephine Teo have issued correction directions to online publication Jom.
According to its website, Jom is a weekly magazine about Singapore. Its co-founders are Charmaine Poh, Tsen-Waye Tay and Sudhir Vadaketh.
On Jul 7, Jom published an article that claimed Mr Teo did not respond to questions “concerning the issue of actual or apparent conflicts of interest and possible breach of the code of conduct for ministers”.
The publication said Mr Teo did not go beyond replying that it is more important to observe the spirit rather than just the letter of the code.
Jom also claimed the SLA spent more than S$1 million (US$0.76 million) on the renovation of both bungalows because the ministers were tenants.
It wrote in its article that the government caused Instagram to geo-block a post by fugitive lawyer Charles Yeo, the former Reform Party chairman.
MinLaw and MCI said the Jom article omitted important information from what Mr Teo had said in parliament on Jul 3.
“Senior Minister Teo Chee Hean had expressly clarified that he meant it was important to observe the spirit as well as the letter of the code,” said the ministries.
“Senior Minister Teo Chee Hean also said that Minister K Shanmugam had recused himself, and this meant that he no longer had any duty in the matter. There could thus be no potential or actual conflict of interest.”
The senior minister also explained how Mr Shanmugam had “removed himself from the chain of command and decision-making process entirely” when it came to the rental of 26 Ridout Road.
Mr Teo also highlighted that the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau had established – as part of an independent investigation – that no matter was raised by SLA to MinLaw and to any of the ministers during the rental process.
The ministries said that the identity of the tenants had no bearing on the amount spent by SLA on the works carried out on both bungalows.
“The article implies that this sum was unusually large, and omits important information that the works done by SLA were consistent with SLA’s general practice, and were assessed to be necessary in the circumstances, as explained by Second Minister for Law Edwin Tong in Parliament on Jul 3.”
They added that the authority invests a “significant amount” in maintaining conserved properties such as the two bungalows, and that a key reason for the cost is the nature of the conservation requirements for such properties, which are older than the average property in Singapore.
Mr Tong had spoken “at length” in parliament about the details of these conservation requirements, said the ministries.
“While the maintenance works are done in periodic cycles, SLA does them in the lead up to a confirmed tenancy where practical, to avoid disrupting existing tenants and to ensure that the costs can be recovered from the prospective tenant,” said MinLaw and MCI.
SLA has published information that similar and large amounts have been spent by the agency on other black-and-white bungalows “in a manner consistent with conservation requirements”.
In the case of 26 and 31 Ridout Road, most of the costs incurred by SLA were for works that external consultants had determined to be necessary. This was in light of the condition of the properties and to comply with the relevant conservation requirements.
The remaining costs were incurred as part of the usual works done before the start of a tenancy to ensure that the property is habitable, said the ministries.
With regards to the claim that an Instagram post by Charles Yeo was blocked, the ministries said this was untrue and that the government did not issue any directions or requests on this matter to Meta, Instagram’s parent company, that caused the platform to geo-block the post.
As required by the POFMA directions, Jom must publish the correction notices on its website and social media pages.