SINGAPORE — Opposition party leader Chee Soon Juan has been ordered to put up corrections for publishing false statements on public housing policies.

In a statement on Thursday (Feb 22), the Ministry for National Development (MND) said that National Development Minister Desmond Lee has instructed the office of the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (Pofma) to issue a correction direction to Dr Chee, as well as a targeted correction direction to TikTok Pte Ltd, in relation to certain posts published on social media.

On Feb 17, Dr Chee, who is secretary-general of the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP), uploaded a video on his Facebook, Instagram and TikTok accounts.

In it, he refers to a letter from a member of the public sent to the forum page of national daily The Straits Times that was dated Dec 17, 2022, as well as a reply to the letter from the Housing and Development Board (HDB) on Jan 2, 2023.

Dr Chee says in the video: “Roy Ong mentioned in his letter that it would be good to have bigger flats so that our elderly parents and young children can live with us under one roof, but the Government rejected the idea.”

In a statement published Thursday on the state-run Factually webpage, which clarifies misinformation that has generated public interest, MND said Dr Chee’s claim that the Government has “rejected the idea of building flats that can accommodate multi-generational living” is false.

It added that he had quoted HDB’s reply without including information from the reply about the larger flat types offered by the public housing authority to accommodate multi-generational living. 

HDB’s reply to the letter stated: "We offer a wide range of flats, from two-room flexi flats to three-generation flats, in various locations to cater to the different housing needs and budgets of first-timer families, second-timer families, the elderly and singles."

It also said: "Nevertheless, HDB continues to build five-room and three-generation flats to meet the needs of larger families and multi-generation families who wish to live together, a point which Mr Ong raised.” 

MND said that Dr Chee will be required to carry correction notices on his Instagram and Facebook accounts and create a new TikTok post containing a correction notice.

TikTok will also be required to communicate a correction notice to all end-users in Singapore that had accessed the post on its platform.

“This will allow viewers to consider both versions and draw their own conclusions,” the ministry added. 

Responding to TODAY's queries, SDP said that it would "comply with the Pofma order as instructed". 

"However, we reject the interpretation presented in the Pofma notice, and are exploring our options as we take steps to mount a legal challenge to the Government's stance," the party said.

"We also note the extremely short notice between the issuance of the Pofma order via email (1750hrs on Feb 22, 2024) and the deadline for posting the correction notices (0000hrs on Feb 23, 2024)." 

At around 11.40pm on Thursday, Dr Chee posted a correction notice on his Facebook and Instagram accounts. He also posted a correction on his TikTok account at around 12.30am on Friday morning. 

As of Friday afternoon, TikTok had inserted a notice under Dr Chee's video where it appears on its platform that includes a link to the Government's clarification.

TODAY understands from TikTok that the company is taking action to send inbox notifications to users who have seen the content.