POFMA order issued to TOC editor, publisher over falsehoods on Attorney-General appointment

24/03/2026 2 Views

SINGAPORE – A correction direction has been issued to the chief editor and publisher of The Online Citizen (TOC) over false statements concerning the appointment of the Attorney-General.

The statements were posted on TOC’s website and social media pages, as well as the website of AI-driven media platform Heidoh.

In a statement on March 23, the Ministry of Law (MinLaw) said the POFMA Office – which administers the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (POFMA) – was instructed by Law Minister and Second Minister for Home Affairs Edwin Tong to issue the correction direction to Mr Terry Xu Yuan Chen and Miao Yi Infotech, a company in Taiwan that publishes TOC, under Singapore’s fake news law.

Under the order, Mr Xu and Miao Yi Infotech are required to publish correction notices on TOC’s websites, Heidoh’s website, TOC’s Facebook and Instagram pages, and in The Straits Times.

These notices have to state that the content communicated false statements of fact, and provide a link to the Government’s clarification.

MinLaw said the false statements were published in an article on the individual websites of TOC and Heidoh on March 9. They were also posted on TOC’s Facebook and Instagram platforms on the same day.

MinLaw said several falsehoods were published, including that Attorney-General Lucien Wong has not recused himself from acting on matters pertaining to the compulsory acquisition of 38 Oxley Road.

The ministry said Mr Wong had recused himself from matters pertaining to 38 Oxley Road, and therefore, did not act in those matters, as stated in Parliament in July 2017.

This includes the compulsory acquisition of 38 Oxley Road, the former home of Singapore’s founding prime minister Lee Kuan Yew.

“Any statement or suggestion that A-G Wong may have acted or is acting in conflict of interest in such matters is entirely without basis,” said MinLaw.

Another falsehood was that during the debate on MinLaw’s budget on March 2, Workers’ Party chairwoman Sylvia Lim was not permitted to raise any follow-up questions on the Attorney-General’s reappointment process.

MinLaw said Mr Tong had addressed Ms Lim’s questions about the Attorney-General’s reappointment process.

“After Minister Tong’s response, like five other MPs, Ms Lim was allowed to raise follow-up questions, and Ms Lim, in fact, asked two questions to which Minister Tong responded, as reflected in the public record,” added the ministry.

The third clarification was that Mr Wong’s reappointment was made in accordance with the Constitution, which permits appointments beyond 60 years old.

This was in response to the falsehood published by TOC and Heidoh that the Constitution provides for the Attorney-General to retire at the age of 60 without qualification or proviso, but that Prime Minister Lawrence Wong had appointed Attorney-General Wong until he is 75.

MinLaw also said PM Wong did not reappoint Attorney-General Wong.

“Under our Constitution, it is the president, not the PM, that appoints or reappoints the A-G,” the ministry said.

President Tharman Shanmugaratnam, acting in his discretion and concurring with PM Wong’s advice, and having consulted the Council of Presidential Advisers, had reappointed Attorney-General Wong in October 2025.

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