Kenneth Jeyaretnam given 8th POFMA order, under police probe over possible offences under contempt laws

SINGAPORE: Reform Party leader Kenneth Jeyaretnam has been issued his eighth correction direction under the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (POFMA).

The latest POFMA order relates to a Jun 15 Facebook post in which he suggested that the government sets artificially high land prices for sale to the Housing and Development Board (HDB), among other false claims. 

He also alleged in the post that the reason why the government maintains a large land bank of heritage properties is to keep land prices as high as possible, and that this is part of its strategy of boosting the country’s reserves.

These claims are untrue, the Ministry of Finance (MOF) said in a media release on Thursday (Jul 4). 

It added that the police and POFMA Office are investigating Mr Jeyaretnam, the first time such a probe has been made public.

He is being investigated for possible offences under POFMA and possible contempt of court under the Administration of Justice (Protection) Act 2016.

“Agencies have been in communication with Mr Jeyaretnam since April 2024 and have invited him to assist with the investigations,” said the Finance Ministry.

“He has thus far remained out of jurisdiction and not made himself available to assist in investigations by attending any interviews.”

EIGHTH POFMA ORDER

Mr Jeyaretnam has been vocal about several matters on social media, including his views on the rental of state properties at Ridout Road to two Cabinet ministers. 

The Finance Ministry noted that this is the eighth correction direction that has been issued to Mr Jeyaretnam for 21 online posts. He received the first of these POFMA orders in July 2023.

His website, The Ricebowl Singapore, as well as his accounts on Facebook, Instagram, X and LinkedIn, have been marked as Declared Online Locations under POFMA since Dec 12. 

This was for carrying three or more different false statements of fact that were subject to active POFMA directions at the material time, said the ministry. 

Despite this, the ministry said Mr Jeyaretnam has continued to make false and misleading statements about government policies and the operations of public agencies.

“He has repeatedly made false statements, even when the facts are clear and should be known to him,” it added.

Mr Jeyaretnam was issued his sixth POFMA order in February this year in relation to his comments about the rental of the black-and-white bungalows at Ridout Road.

That same month, the authorities told CNA that the Attorney-General’s Chambers and the POFMA Office would assess his comments on the Ridout Road rentals to see if “any further action should be taken”.

His seventh POFMA order was given in May, after he alleged that the Prime Minister and Law Minister can influence the sizes of performance bonuses paid to specific High Court judges.