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Blogger says he reposted comments about masks to get more information on topic

SINGAPORE — Blogger Ravi Philemon today (July 10) said he reposted comments about the N95 masks “with the intention of not asserting, but getting more information on that topic”.

SINGAPORE — Blogger Ravi Philemon today (July 10) said he reposted comments about the N95 masks “with the intention of not asserting, but getting more information on that topic”.

“The facts are, comments such as the one reposted by me arose because the Government assurances did not tally with the situation on the ground on 20 and 21 June 2013,” said Mr Philemon in a statement to the media.

On a June 22 post on his Facebook page, Mr Philemon had cited an unnamed friend as saying that nine million masks would be brought into Singapore for the haze, but “none will be for the public”. Communications and Information Minister Yaacob Ibrahim then named him in Parliament as an example of those who spread false information and hoaxes about the haze.

Outlining the sequence of events from June 20 to 23, Mr Philemon said the Ministry of Health (MOH) on June 20 assured the public that there was sufficient stock of N95 masks to meet anticipated needs, and that the masks would be available at large retail and pharmacy chains by the evening.

At noontime the next day, however, the masks were still out of stock in many pharmacies, said Mr Philemon. At a little past midnight, he then re-posted a friend’s comment about the masks.

“Readers can decide for themselves if I was being malicious or irresponsible,” said Mr Philemon. “As ordinary citizens like me are not in a position to verify what is truth and what is not, it is not irresponsible of me to highlight such sentiments so that the Government can appropriately clarify them.”

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