Shanmugam rejects Terry Xu’s application to cancel POFMA order on police bullying allegations

Shanmugam rejects Terry Xu’s application to cancel POFMA order on police bullying allegations

The incident at Yishun Avenue 5 on May 17, 2021, emerged after an Instagram user alleged that four officers had “clustered an elderly auntie that took off her mask because she was feeling breathless” and continued to “tell her off” even though she had put her mask on.

The Instagram post also said someone had to step in to “salvage the situation”.

The police refuted the allegations, issuing two statements on May 19 and May 25 that year. They said the police attended to the elderly woman to help her find her way home as she appeared to be lost. 

“With the help of a member of the public, it was subsequently established that the elderly woman, believed to have dementia, resided in a nearby block and her domestic helper was contacted to bring her home,” the police said on May 19, 2021.

MHA said earlier this month that the continued allegations may affect public trust and confidence in the police.

“Xu’s attempt to rehash issues already considered by the court, and exploit a case involving an elderly and vulnerable woman, are contemptible,” the ministry said previously.

“It bears noting that the TOCA (The Online Citizen Asia) article is one of 60 written by Xu to raise funds to pay for the fine imposed upon him by the courts for various offences, including contempt of court and POFMA offences.”

On May 4, Mr Xu successfully appealed to have his jail term for criminal defamation replaced with a fine of S$8,000.

He received a three-week jail term for defaming members of the Cabinet of Singapore. This was for approving the publication of a letter in September 2018 that alleged “corruption at the highest echelons”. 

Mr Xu served that jail term in April 2022 when he was sentenced by a district court.