SINGAPORE: Minister Josephine Teo has revealed that a police report has been filed, after she was accused of insulting Malay Muslims in Singapore. The ruling party politician denied the accusation in a Facebook post on Sunday (11 Aug), before updating the post to share that the matter has been referred to the police.
Around 2pm on Sunday, Ms Teo wrote: “Recently, a TikTok user, “Mr XXX,” claimed that I had insulted Malay Muslims. I won’t repeat his exact words or reveal his handle, as doing so would only propagate the falsehood.” She added that the original post had been replaced with an apology and a disclaimer that what had been previously posted was “probably fake news.”
Revealing that her fellow People’s Action Party colleagues Masagos Zulkifli and MP Zhulkarnain Abdul Rahim alerted her to the claim as they “know I could not have made such a statement,” Ms Teo called the accusation a “falsehood” and said the TikTok user is possibly “using similar tactics against other colleagues.”
Asserting that such “emotionally-charged posts can easily sway opinions,” Ms Teo called on Singaporeans to verify such claims before reacting or sharing it.
She initially expressed gratitude to those who believed in her and alerted her to the matter but later updated her post to say that she has decided to involve the police. Acknowledging the support and advice she has received on the matter, she said many Singaporeans “asked for stronger action to be taken.”
Painting the false claim as a severe “grave untruth,” she said: “Indeed, as many of you have pointed out, the social cohesion and harmony among the different communities in Singapore are hard-earned and should not be taken for granted. Many of you have asked for stronger action to be taken. Given the severity of the falsehood, a police report has been filed.”
TISG/