SINGAPORE: In their respective comments on the anti-graft probe involving Transport Minister S Iswaran, both Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong did not want to deviate from what the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) had announced in its initial statement on the investigation as it was “related to operational matters”, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said on Thursday (Jul 20).
This was revealed as part of a correction direction issued to Political Sophistry, a blog on Singapore politics, under the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (POFMA).
In its article “Upfront and transparent? A timeline of the CPIB investigation into Transport Minister Iswaran” published on Jul 16, the blog suggested that DPM Wong “deliberately withheld information” as he wanted to “conceal the truth”, said PMO.
PMO said in its press release that these statements were false.
On Jul 12, CPIB issued a press release stating that Mr Iswaran was assisting the bureau with an investigation.
Mr Lee’s statement and Mr Wong’s media interview conducted on the same day kept to what CPIB had announced. The reason for this, said PMO, was that: “It is CPIB’s call to make, on the operational information it was comfortable to provide in the CPIB’s press releases.”
Two days later, CPIB provided an update in response to media queries stating that Mr Iswaran and property tycoon Ong Beng Seng were both arrested on Jul 11 and subsequently released on bail.
The blog, Political Sophistry, started in February this year, publishes commentaries regarding Singapore politics.
Topics include the Ridout Road debate – in which two senior ministers rented state properties – as well as the government’s handling of the resignations of parliamentary speaker Tan Chuan-Jin and lawmaker Cheng Li Hui..
As part of the correction direction, the blog will be required to publish a correction notice and provide access to the correct facts.
A check by CNA on Thursday evening showed that Political Sophistry had put up a correction notice on its home page.