SINGAPORE - The Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (Pofma) Office has said activist Jolovan Wham's claims that he was asked to apologise during an interview with the office on Oct 22 were untrue. Mr Wham posted on Facebook on Oct 24 that he was asked by a Pofma officer at the end of a three-hour investigation if he wanted to apologise for his actions. He was called to the office for an interview after he and eight others were issued correction directions from the Pofma Office. This was for posts that suggested that Law and Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam had said in Parliament that the rule of law does not operate in Singapore. Mr Wham wrote in a post about his interview: "The implication was that if I did (apologise), they might decide to let me off the hook. But what a terrible choice one has to make to avoid legal troubles!" He added that he could not bring himself to apologise and claimed the authorities were using their power to scare others into submission and humiliate him. The Pofma office said instead that it was Mr Wham who had asked the investigating officer if he was expected to apologise, in a written statement on Monday (Nov 1) to address Mr Wham's post. The officer replied that it was for Mr Wham to decide as this was his statement, the office added. The statement wrote: "The Pofma Office categorically rejects Mr Wham's claims. His claim that he was asked if he wanted to apologise during the interview is false." Mr Wham was one of nine entities who had received letters from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Oct 7 asking them to correct false statements and apologise for misquoting Mr Shanmugam. Checks show the seven are activists Andrew Loh, Kirsten Han, Martyn See, Julie O'Connor, Kokila Annamalai and Lynn Lee, and Facebook page Wake Up Singapore. The other two are Peoples Voice chief Lim Tean and Mr Wham. These misrepresentations were also published by news website Mothership in its article on Oct 6, which had since published an editor's note to clarify and correct the statement. The posts in question had completely misstated what Mr Shanmugam said at the debate on the Foreign Interference (Countermeasures) Act, MHA said. "The minister had repeatedly affirmed, in Parliament, the importance of the rule of law for Singapore and the Government's strong and continued commitment to the rule of law," the ministry said on Oct 8. "He had said there are some countries around the world where the rule of law is a concept for lawyers, but does not operate in the real world, and their societies live in utter misery. He used this as a contrast to how the rule of law is applied in Singapore." More on this topic Related Story Activist Jolovan Wham issued Pofma order over tweet on Shanmugam's remarks Related Story Pofma correction direction issued to Truth Warriors over Covid-19 false claims
SINGAPORE - A former human resources manager of a Hyflux subsidiary asked and received some $6,000 in bribes from the director of a recruitment agency he was friendly with. Khoo Chen Ee had recommended the company for a project that Hyflux was working on. In return, the 36-year-old asked for the director of recruitment agency Leeds HR Solution to cover his personal expenses, including a short holiday to Bangkok that he took with his girlfriend. Khoo, a Malaysian, was sentenced to 10 days' jail on Friday (Oct 23), after pleading guilty to two corruption charges. Another similar charge was taken into consideration during sentencing. Deputy Public Prosecutor Derek Ee told the court that Khoo, who was employed by Hydrochem (S), had to liaise with employment agencies to source for foreign workers for Hyflux, which was working on an incineration plant project. Hydrochem is a wholly owned subsidiary of Hyflux, and is the predecessor of the company. It was set up by Hyflux founder Olivia Lum in 1989. Khoo came to know of Mr Elumalai Selvakumar, the director of Leeds HR Solution, through his work, and subsequently became "good friends" with him, said DPP Ee. "Khoo had repeatedly given positive feedback about Leeds to the Hyflux TAT (talent acquisition team), and never gave negative feedback about Leeds," said the DPP. He added that Khoo told his team that Leeds was better than the other agencies in areas such as crowd control and repatriation. Some time in August 2018, Khoo contacted Mr Selvakumar after a personal trip to Bangkok with his girlfriend. He had spent about $1,000 to $1,500 on the trip, and Khoo asked Mr Selvakumar to "cover" it as he knew that Hyflux had awarded some recruitment contracts to the company and it was doing well, said DPP Ee. More on this topic Related Story Time for Hyflux's company-led restructuring to end? Related Story Pison receives 158 tenders from Hyflux creditors, puzzles over UWG's reluctance to engage Mr Selvakumar agreed and handed him $1,000 during a meal at Jurong Point. In September 2018, Khoo asked Mr Selvakumar for a "fee", as he knew that Hyflux was in the midst of awarding Leeds a recruitment order. He also asked for some money to cover his expenses for a recruitment trip to Chennai in October 2018. Mr Selvakumar gave him $5,000 on Dec 3 that year. More on this topic Related Story Hyflux probe raises questions of creative accounting, disclosure breaches: Experts Related Story Hyflux in hot water: 6 things about embattled CEO Olivia Lum Two weeks later, Khoo was caught at the airport while on his way to a recruitment trip with Leeds to Chennai. He had expected to receive another $1,000 after the trip from Mr Selvakumar. In mitigation, Khoo's defence counsel Suang Wijaya said Khoo had cooperated with the authorities, and had voluntarily paid back the $6,000 he received. The sum will be forfeited to the state, the district judge ordered. Mr Selvakumar will be dealt with in court separately. Khoo will begin his sentence on Nov 6.