SPH Radio gets S$7,000 penalty for Kiss92FM’s offending comments on air
Screencap: Kiss92FM/Facebook
SINGAPORE — SPH Radio has been slapped with a S$7,000 financial penalty by the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) for breaching the Free-To-Air Radio Programme Code.
On Jan 11, deejays on Kiss92FM were discussing about the study on the sleeping patterns of Singaporeans during their on-air morning segment. In the process of interpreting the findings obtained from the study, the deejays voiced remarks which “stereotyped certain races”. These remarks were deemed offensive by some listeners.
In a statement on Tuesday (March 21), the IMDA said: “As a free-to-air broadcaster, SPH Radio is expected to comply with the Free-To-Air Radio Programme Code which seeks to ensure that radio programmes maintain a standard that is acceptable to the community.
“A key obligation under the Code is for broadcasters to avoid racial and religious stereotyping and ensure that content which denigrates or is likely to offend the sensitivities of any racial or religious group in Singapore is not aired.”
As a free-to-air broadcaster, SPH Radio is expected to comply with the Free-To-Air Radio Programme Code, which ensures that no “content which denigrates or is likely to offend the sensitivities of any racial or religious groups in Singapore” is aired, the statement added.
The station had since made an apology on its Facebook page.
Writing on behalf of Kiss92FM, deejay Maddy Barber said “it was not our intention to hurt or belittle anyone or any race”.
“Some of you who heard our segment this morning on the sleep survey results, and some who may have heard about it from other sources, have taken offence at how it was discussed on our morning show. On behalf of the team I’d like to apologise for this,” she wrote.
“Most of us on the show, including me, come from a multi-racial family, and a tolerant society has always been what we stand for on the show.
“I can understand how, when parts of what was said are taken out of the full context of the repartee among us DJs, they can be misconstrued to mean something we never intended.
“Again, we sincerely apologise for any offence taken and want to assure our listeners that we all want to work to become a tolerant and cohesive society.”
