SINGAPORE — StarHub and M1 have both accepted Singtel’s apology over the controversy caused by social media agency Gushcloud, which had offered perks to social media “influencers” to complain about rival telcos as part of its campaign for Singtel.

StarHub chief executive Tan Tong Hai said in a statement today (March 20) that the company notes and accepts Singtel group CEO’s apology.

StarHub had earlier told the press that it was considering legal options, but declined to comment today whether the company was still planning to take further action. M1 said it  “will not be taking further action” after accepting Singtel’s apology.

Gushcloud was hired by Singtel in June last year to promote the telco’s Youth Plan. The ensuing campaign came to light last week after blogger Wendy Cheng, who is embroiled in a long-running spat with Gushcloud, exposed the agency’s brief to its influencers on her website.

Upon investigation, Singtel said one of its staff who worked with Gushcloud on the campaign had not adhered to the telco’s marketing standards.The employee is no longer with the company and the telco has also ended its relationship with Gushcloud,  said Singtel Group chief executive officer Chua Sock Koong on Thursday. She also apologised to StarHub and M1, on behalf of the company’s senior management, over the incident.

Yesterday afternoon, Gushcloud removed its list of clients from its site. These include software giant Microsoft, online retailer Zalora, Action for AIDS Singapore, budget airline Tiger Airways and Citibank. Action for AIDS Singapore said it had engaged Gushcloud’s services through a third-party events organiser for a campaign in 2012 as a one-off engagement. “We are not sure, at this stage, if it will affect our decision to engage Gushcloud in the future,” said the organisation.

In response to TODAY’s queries, Tiger Airways said it had worked with Gushcloud once in 2013, when the agency approached the airline for sponsorship of air tickets for a bloggers’ familiarisation trip.