POFMA orders for The Online Citizen, Twenty Two Thirty YouTube channel over false claims about 26 Ridout Road

SINGAPORE: The Online Citizen (TOC) has been ordered to carry a correction notice on an article published on its website on Feb 14 that made false statements about the rental of and works carried out at 26 Ridout Road. 

As part of the order under the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (POFMA), TOC is also required to carry similar correction notices on its Facebook and X posts that linked to the article, said the Ministry of Law on Tuesday (Feb 25). 

A correction order was also issued to the YouTube account Twenty Two Thirty for a video posted on Feb 16 about 26 Ridout Road. 

This is not the first time TOC has published false statements regarding the rental of black-and-white colonial bungalows at 26 and 31 Ridout Road. 

Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam rents 26 Ridout Road while Foreign Affairs Minister Vivian Balakrishnan rents 31 Ridout Road.

According to government fact-checking website Factually, TOC was previously issued a correction direction on Feb 18, 2024. 

Despite this, TOC persists in making baseless assertions of impropriety by ministers, the Singapore Land Authority (SLA) and other public agencies, said Factually. 

During a parliamentary debate on the matter in July 2023, then-Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said both Mr Shanmugam and Dr Balakrishnan did nothing wrong in their rental of the two Ridout Road state properties for personal use.

Investigations, including by the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB), found no evidence of criminal wrongdoing or preferential treatment given to the two ministers.

An investigation report by Senior Minister Teo Chee Hean also found that both ministers conducted themselves properly in the rental transactions and took appropriate steps to avoid any conflict of interest.

DISTORTED FACTS, BASELESS ASSUMPTIONS

The article on Factually explains further why the assertions made by TOC and Twenty Two Thirty are false. 

The publications paint a “false and misleading picture” about the rental of and works carried out at 26 Ridout Road and communicated multiple falsehoods, it said. 

Factually laid out the falsehoods communicated by TOC and Twenty Two Thirty:

• The SLA has given Mr Shanmugam assurances of an extension to the lease of 26 Ridout Road beyond its expiry in 2027
• The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) and the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) did not ensure that all their requisite approvals were obtained for the works carried out at 26 Ridout Road
• Public funds have been used to pay for the earthworks at 26 Ridout Road carried out since 2024

“The publications have distorted the facts by making baseless assertions and omitted key facts which are publicly available,” said the website.

Factually stated that SLA did not assure Mr Shanmugam of a further extension beyond the expiry of the tenancy term in 2027. 

Tenancies for residential state properties are granted for two or three-year terms, with a maximum initial agreement of renewal every three years up to a total of nine years. 

SLA typically allows tenancy renewals upon the expiry of any tenancy term, subject to prevailing market conditions, unless the government has other plans for the site or the tenant has a poor track record.

The Factually article said 26 Ridout Road is subject to a tenancy agreement of renewal every three years up to a total of nine years, commencing in June 2018. 

The tenancy was renewed for a third three-year term from June 2024 until June 2027 in line with SLA’s prevailing guidelines.  

“There has not been any new undisclosed tenancy term, nor has SLA given any assurance to Minister Shanmugam of any extension beyond the expiry of the term in 2027,” it said, adding that the grant of a further renewal will depend on stated conditions.

“Further, during the tenancy, SLA generally allows tenants to carry out improvement works on their property.

“SLA would advise its tenants to consider the remaining timeframe when planning improvements. The decision on whether and when to undertake such works rests with the tenants.”

APPROVALS FOR WORKS

The clarification also said URA and BCA ensured that all their requisite approvals were obtained for the works carried out at 26 Ridout Road. 

For state properties tenanted out by SLA, URA’s approval is only required for works that affect conserved buildings or monuments, or those that exceed 10 per cent of the existing gross floor area of the property.

“To streamline the planning application process for works carried out on these properties, URA and SLA have in place a set of pre-authorised works that do not require URA’s approval and only require SLA’s in-principle agreement. 

“SLA’s in-principle agreement must be obtained on the proposed works before they can be carried out on the tenanted property. URA issued circulars in 2015 and 2017 to inform the industry about this streamlined process,” said Factually.

Tenants must still obtain clearance from relevant technical agencies, such as BCA, where necessary. One category of works that does not require BCA’s approval is “insignificant building works” as prescribed under the Building Control Regulations 2003.

The onus is also on the qualified person engaged by the tenant or SLA to obtain the requisite approvals from relevant agencies prior to carrying out the proposed works. 

A qualified person is an individual who is registered as an architect with the Board of Architects or a professional engineer with the Professional Engineers Board and has a valid practising certificate.

Factually said SLA’s in-principle agreement was obtained for earthworks carried out within the property by the tenant since 2024. BCA’s approval was also obtained.

The qualified person had sought approval from URA, but URA said that its approval was not required.

For the swimming pool installed by the tenant in 2018, URA’s approval was also not required since the pool installation was external to and did not affect the conserved building. 

“The fact that URA’s approval was not required had already been addressed in the July 2023 Review of the Rentals of State Properties at No 26 and No 31 Ridout Road.”

BCA’s approval was not required since the pool installation was considered “insignificant building works” under the Building Control Regulations. This was because the excavation and earth retaining structure works did not exceed a height of 1.5m, Factually added. 

SLA, as the landlord, had also carried out structural works.

This comprised repairs to timber floor beams and joists at the main building and timber beams at a linkway in 2018; replacement of damaged timber members in 2024; and restoration and replacement of existing doors and windows in 2024/2025.

For these structural works, all relevant approvals from URA and BCA were obtained. 

SLA bore the costs of the structural works as part of its obligations as landlord, to ensure that the rented property is in good condition for safe occupancy and to protect the property’s heritage value, in line with the relevant conservation and restoration guidelines. 

Factually said SLA’s obligation in this regard had been addressed in the review report and during the parliamentary sitting on Jul 3, 2023.

It also said no public funds were used to pay for the earthworks that have been carried out at the property since 2024.

“The tenant at 26 Ridout Road bore the full costs of the earthworks conducted since 2024, as well as the other improvement works carried out by the tenant. No public funds were used to finance these works.”

Factually said upholding a system of governance with high standards of integrity is an “ongoing, collective effort”. 

“We urge the public to be discerning, especially of articles from TOC which have previously made unsubstantiated allegations and omitted publicly available facts. Such actions undermine our public institutions.”

Twenty Two Thirty added the correction notice to its YouTube video on Tuesday night. As of 10pm on Tuesday, TOC has not.