POFMA correction orders issued to TOC Asia, Terry Xu over police bullying allegations

SINGAPORE: The Online Citizen Asia (TOCA) and its publisher Terry Xu were on Sunday (Mar 7) ordered to put up correction notices to an online article and social media posts about a 2021 incident in which the police were falsely accused of taunting an elderly woman in Yishun.

This is the second time the authorities have issued a correction direction under the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (POFMA) to posts published by Mr Xu in relation to the incident. 

The latest POFMA orders relate to The Online Citizen Asia's article published on its website on May 2, 2023, its social media posts that reference the article on the same day, as well as Mr Xu's Facebook post on Apr 30, 2023.

"Despite the government’s clarifications and the High Court’s clear findings on the matter, Xu and TOCA have persisted in making false allegations pertaining to the case," the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said in a media release on Sunday.

"These allegations are wholly unfounded."

Under the POFMA order, Mr Xu and The Online Citizen Asia are required to carry a correction notice alongside their publications. The two parties have since done so.

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 the matter 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.

On May 21, 2021, a correction direction was issued against The Online Citizen for publishing the falsehoods. The publisher appealed to set the correction direction aside, but it was dismissed by the High Court in 2022.

“The High Court found that TOC had published a false statement of fact and that the police officers had in fact expressed concern for the elderly woman, with the aim of rendering assistance to her,” MHA said on Sunday.

“The court observed that the original publisher could not, in good faith, have concluded that there was reprimanding or taunting by the police."

The ministry added 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,” MHA said.

"It bears noting that the TOCA 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 Thursday, 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.

POLICE RESPONSE

In a statement on Sunday, the police said they were aware of the recent posts made by The Online Citizen Asia and Mr Xu on May 2 and Apr 30 respectively, labelling them as "wholly unfounded".

Addressing Mr Xu’s claims that the police knew the woman was not lost but wanted to send her home nevertheless, the police said this was untrue.

The police said a member of the public asked for assistance on May 17, 2021, at 6.43pm, reporting that an elderly woman, who was not wearing a mask, looked lost.

“When officers located the elderly woman, she repeatedly said she knew where she stayed, but was unable to provide her address,” the police said.

They added that the woman’s address was later established after a member of the public recognised her and recalled that she lived in a nearby block.

“The High Court has in fact found that the police officers believed that the elderly woman was lost,” the police said.

They also refuted Mr Xu’s claim that the main reason its officers approached the elderly woman was because she was not wearing a mask, which at the time was mandatory under Singapore's COVID-19 rules.

“This is untrue as the police’s primary concern was to help the elderly woman find her way home,” the police said. “They were attempting to contact her next-of-kin, so they could escort her home safely.”

The police added its officers also advised her to wear a mask for her own safety due to the severe COVID-19 situation at the time and that it was also a requirement back then that masks had to be worn in public.

“The fact that they had asked her to put on a mask does not detract from the fact that they were trying to get her home safely,” the police said.

Mr Xu also alleged that the police misrepresented and lied to the elderly woman's next-of-kin that she was lost, resulting in the next-of-kin filing a police report on the issue.

"This is a blatant fabrication," the police said. "The next-of-kin had lodged a police report against The Online Citizen and not the police, over the falsehoods The Online Citizen had spread about the police officers' interactions with the elderly woman, and for interviewing the elderly woman without the family's permission."

The police added that its resources are better used to deter and solve crimes, and to assist members of the public, rather than to repeatedly address such "baseless allegations".