Former WP NCMP Yee Jenn Jong issued POFMA order over false claims about AHTC investigation

SINGAPORE: A Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (POFMA) correction direction was issued to former Workers’ Party (WP) NCMP Yee Jenn Jong on Monday (Aug 26).
The Ministry of National Development (MND) said Mr Yee had published posts on his Facebook page last month that falsely claimed that actions taken by the ministry against the Aljunied-Hougang Town Council (AHTC) were “politically motivated”, among other assertions.
“The Minister for National Development has instructed the POFMA Office to issue a correction direction under the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act 2019 to Mr Yee in respect of his Facebook posts on Jul 25 and 27, 2024,” said MND.
In May 2011, WP won the five-member Aljunied GRC in that year’s General Election and retained its single seat of Hougang. It was the first time an opposition party had won a Group Representation Constituency.
WP then formed AHTC, and a managing agent was set up and hired by the town council. But in 2013, MPs from the People’s Action Party (PAP) questioned WP during a parliamentary debate about a possible conflict of interest as the managing agent was owned by WP supporters.
In 2015, the Auditor-General’s Office (AGO) audited AHTC and found lapses in governance and compliance. Accounting firm KPMG also ran an audit and found what it termed “improper payments” worth over S$33.7 million (US$25.9 million) paid to the managing agent.
AHTC appointed an independent panel in 2017 to review the findings, leading to a civil case against three WP leaders that was only dropped in July 2024.
WP formed the Aljunied-Hougang Town Council after winning the five-member Aljunied GRC and retaining its single seat of Hougang in the 2011 General Election, and FMSS was set up and hired as the town council’s managing agent.
After WP won the single seat of Punggol East in a by-election in 2013, it folded it into its existing town council and the entity was renamed the Aljunied-Hougang-Punggol East Town Council (AHPETC).
Months later, PAP Members of Parliament questioned WP during a parliamentary debate about a possible conflict of interest. This was because AHPETC’s managing agent FMSS was owned by WP supporters.
In February 2015, the Auditor-General’s Office audited AHPETC and found lapses in governance and compliance, including the fact that FMSS owner Danny Loh was the secretary of the town council, with the power to co-sign cheques, while his wife How Weng Fan was the general manager of AHPETC.
WP lost Punggol East to the PAP in the September 2015 General Election, and the town council was named AHTC again.
In November 2015, the Court of Appeal ordered AHTC to appoint accountants to fix lapses found by the Auditor-General’s Office.
Accounting firm KPMG ran an audit and found what it termed “improper payments” worth over S$33.7 million paid to FMSS and its subsidiary FMSI.
In February 2017, AHTC appointed an independent panel to review the findings of the report. 
On behalf of AHTC, the independent panel filed a civil suit against the three WP MPs – Ms Sylvia Lim, Mr Low Thia Khiang and Mr Pritam Singh – to claim the money back.
Shortly after, Pasir Ris-Punggol Town Council also filed a separate suit against the three WP leaders, for losses allegedly incurred while WP ran Punggol East SMC.
In his posts on Jul 25 and Jul 27, Mr Yee said MND was wrong to call in external auditors because handover issues and insufficient notice were the factors that led to AHTC’s failures in reporting to MND and the ministry’s audit findings.
“Mr Yee’s post was misleading because it omitted important context that AHTC’s own auditors had highlighted serious lapses by AHTC, which then triggered the subsequent audits. MND therefore had legitimate and sufficient basis to call in the external auditors,” said the ministry.
It said KPMG findings revealed that AHTC’s lapses were due to the town council’s governance framework and accounting practices, and that those failures were pervasive and had persisted for a significant time.
Mr Yee also said MND’s decision to withhold grants from AHTC, to call in external auditors and to call for an independent panel (IP) were “politically motivated and not based on legitimate concerns”, the ministry said.
He added that MND withheld grants from AHTC in order to put pressure on AHTC to appoint an independent panel.
“These are false,” said MND.
“If left unaddressed, this falsehood calls into question the integrity of MND and other agencies which were involved in looking into the matter of AHTC.”
The ministry said it only acted because of the many audit concerns raised by AHTC’s own auditors and the AGO.
It added that the formation of an independent panel was not a precondition for MND’s disbursement of withheld grants, and that grants were disbursed after AHTC appointed KPMG as its independent accountant.
“In fact, all withheld grants were disbursed in April 2016, before the IP was formed in February 2017,” said MND.
Mr Yee had also said that the independent panel’s members were decided by MND, and were not independent.
MND dismissed the claims, saying it did not decide on any of the members.
“It was AHTC that appointed the IP chairman in 2017 and allowed him to make the decision on the identity of the other two IP members as he deemed appropriate, or to pick one member from a shortlist by AHTC and the other from a shortlist by HDB,” the ministry said.
“The IP chairman only made his selection after confirming with AHTC that it had no objection to him making his selection from HDB’s shortlist. It is unclear whether AHTC itself provided any shortlist to the IP chairman.”
The independent panel did not take any directions or instructions from HDB, MND or any individuals, the ministry said.
“The IP was independent and impartial, and as an agent for AHTC, supposed to act in the best interests of AHTC,” it added.
Mr Yee will be required to carry correction notices on his Facebook posts stating that the posts contain false statements, and provide a link to the government’s clarifications regarding his claims.
“This will allow readers to read both versions and draw their own conclusions,” said MND.
Mr Yee served as a Non-Constituency Member of Parliament from 2011 to 2015 and is still a member of WP, although he has not held any position in the party since 2016.
When contacted by CNA, he said he would comply with the correction direction as required.
Checks by CNA showed that he had added the correction notices to his posts at about 11.10am on Monday.