Shanmugam questions motive of Nikkei Asia writer’s ‘diatribe’ on KTV lounges amid criminal probe against him

SINGAPORE — Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam on Thursday (July 29) questioned whether the author of a commentary criticising Singapore’s law enforcement had written it as a “political hack job” and because of ongoing criminal investigations against him.

In a Facebook post, Mr Shanmugam noted that the commentary published in financial news publication Nikkei Asia last Friday was written by Andy Wong, one of four men charged on Wednesday over their alleged roles in a sex-themed chat group on messaging platform Telegram.

Describing the opinion article as a “diatribe based on falsehoods”, Mr Shanmugam said he was surprised that Nikkei Asia published the piece.

The commentary, titled “The institutional failures behind Singapore’s latest Covid outbreak”, had criticised law enforcement agencies here for their “failure” to clamp down on vice activities at karaoke, or KTV, lounges, the source of an active coronavirus cluster.

Mr Shanmugam said that investigations against Wong had started in November 2019. 

“We are left to wonder if the criminal investigations against him was the reason for his diatribe based on falsehoods; and the extent to which he was doing a political hack job (his political affiliation is public),” Mr Shanmugam wrote on Facebook, without elaborating on what he meant about Wong’s political leanings.

Mr Shanmugam added that it was “surprising also that Nikkei will publish such an article”. 

The minister's remarks come a day after Mr Sam Tee, senior director of joint operation at the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), penned a sharp rebuke characterising Wong’s article as being “full of inaccuracies”. 

In response to TODAY’s queries, Nikkei Asia’s public relations office said: “Nikkei Asia commissioned the article, which reflects Mr Wong’s personal opinion.”

The newspaper has added an editor’s note at the end of Wong’s commentary with a link to a letter Mr Tee wrote to Nikkei Asia, which the newspaper published on Thursday evening.

Reiterating the clarifications set out by Mr Tee, Mr Shanmugam rejected Wong’s suggestions that the Government was “in cahoots” with KTV operators or that most KTV operations in Singapore are fronts for organised crime and money laundering.

Mr Shanmugam added that it was untrue that the Government had allowed KTV operators to reopen without explaining, for this was explained publicly and in Parliament.

He also disagreed that Singapore had changed its immigration policies because of queries in Parliament. 

Mr Shanmugam had explained the changes in these policies in Parliament on Monday. 

“His piece was little more than a work of fiction,” he said. “The Government has, and will, take a tough approach to sexual crimes.”

Mr Shanmugam said that “a strong sense of moral outrage, at what (the writer) considered improper sexual conduct, ran through the article, spiced with various untrue suggestions and attacks on Government policies in regulating sexual conduct.”

“Ironically, Mr Wong has been charged yesterday for multiple counts of possessing obscene films and transmitting obscene materials in a sex-themed chat group.”