SINGAPORE: Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) leader Chee Soon Juan was on Thursday (Feb 22) issued a correction direction under the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (POFMA) over a recent video he shared on social media regarding public housing polices.
The video was posted on Dr Chee’s Facebook, Instagram and TikTok accounts on Feb 17.
Minister for National Development Desmond Lee instructed the POFMA Office to issue a correction direction to Dr Chee and a targeted correction direction to TikTok in relation to the posts, the ministry said in a press release on Thursday.
Dr Chee will be required to carry correction notices on his Instagram and Facebook accounts and create a new TikTok post containing a correction notice.
These notices must state that the video posted on Feb 17 contained a “false statement of fact”. A link to the government’s clarification must also be provided.
“This will allow viewers to consider both versions and draw their own conclusions,” said the Ministry of National Development.
TikTok will also be required to communicate a correction notice to all end-users in Singapore that had accessed the TikTok post, the ministry added.
WIDE RANGE OF FLATS OFFERED
According to Factually, the government fact-checking website, Dr Chee claimed in his video that the government has rejected the idea of building flats that can accommodate multi-generational living.
To support his claim, he referred to a reply by the Housing and Development Board (HDB) on Jan 2 last year to a Straits Times forum letter from a member of the public. The writer had asked for larger flats to be included in Build-to-Order (BTO) sales offerings to help address the needs of growing families and promote multi-generational living.
“Contrary to Dr Chee’s claim, the government did not reject the suggestion from the forum letter writer to have bigger flats available for multi-generational living,” said Factually.
Dr Chee had quoted HDB’s reply without including additional information from the same reply about the larger flat types offered to accommodate multi-generational living.
“HDB offers a wide range of flats, from 2-room flexi flats to 3Gen flats, in various locations to cater to the different housing needs and budgets of first-timer families, second-timer families, the elderly and singles,” read Factually.
It said that 4-room flats remain the mainstay of HDB’s BTO supply, as they are an affordable option for families and popular with first-timers. Like 5-room flats, 4-room flats come with three bedrooms.