‘I am not Wendy Lim’s husband’

SINGAPORE – Like many Singaporeans, Mr Edmund Ng was surprised when he first heard news on Saturday (March 12) afternoon that Mr David Ong had resigned as the Bukit Batok Member of Parliament. But an even bigger shock was in store for the 31-year-old.

By Sunday morning, multiple postings had surfaced on Facebook mistaking Mr Ng for a key player in the alleged sex scandal that ended Mr Ong’s political career. Several netizens posted a photograph of Mr Ng and claimed he was the husband of of Ms Wendy Lim, a grassroots volunteer and People’s Action Party (PAP) member who allegedly had an affair with the ex-MP.

“I only knew her as we were in the same cheerleading team for David Ong (during the 2015 General Election). There is absolutely no relationship between Wendy Lim and I,” an angry Mr Ng told TODAY in a phone interview on Sunday.

Mr Ng, a school programmes executive with Certis Cisco People Advantage, said he hoped the netizens would stop spreading rumours and take down the erroneous posts on Facebook and various online forums.

Mr Ong has said little about the reasons behind his abrupt resignation, aside from an acknowledgement of “personal indiscretions”. Multiple reports have linked his decision to an alleged affair with Ms Lim, 41. The affair was uncovered after her husband blew the whistle on the duo. Ms Lim’s husband has yet to comment publicly on the case.

For Mr Ng, this origins of this unusual case of mistaken identity remains something of a mystery. One possible cause: He had a photograph taken at last year’s GE where he held up a giant heart-shaped board with the words “David Ong” on it.

The sign looked similar to those that appeared in many photographs of Ms Lim at last year’s election rallies. One widely circulated photo showed Ms Lim and Mr Ong posing together with the sign that read: “We love David.”

Mr Ng said he volunteered with the PAP for the first time in last year’s elections, but stressed that he was not a grassroots leader, unlike Ms Lim. He merely helped to give out election flyers and cheer on Mr Ong when he was the candidate for Bukit Batok Single Member Constituency.

Thinking back to the rallies last year, Mr Ng said he remembered Ms Lim as the most enthusiastic member of the cheerleading squad for Mr Ong. In person, she was “outgoing and friendly”, and would be the one to initiate conversations with others, Mr Ng added.

On Mr Ong’s alleged affair, Mr Ng said there were “no signs at all” that it had been going on. He added, however, that he would continue to support the PAP as he saw this case as being the fault of an individual.

When asked if he would still volunteer in the upcoming by-elections at Bukit Batok, Mr Ng said he was unlikely to do so. But he did not rule out volunteering in future General Elections.