Goh Meng Seng issued Pofma order over false claims linking LTA and Iswaran with contract to Lum Kok Seng

Opposition politician Goh Meng Seng was issued a correction notice under the law against fake news, after claiming that the Land Transport Authority (LTA) awarded a "huge contract" to Lum Kok Seng when S. Iswaran was transport minister.

Goh had published the allegations on his Facebook page, as well as on the Goh Meng Seng People's Power Party page on Tuesday (March 26).

He was issued a correction direction under the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (Pofma), under the instruction of Transport Minister Chee Hong Tat.

Lum, 75, is managing director of property management and construction firm Lum Chang. He was mentioned in the eight additional charges that Iswaran was handed on Monday. 

The former transport minister was accused of obtaining valuable items worth about $18,956.94 from Lum between November 2021 and 2022. Under Section 165 of the Penal Code, it is an offence for public servants to accept gifts from someone involved with them in an official capacity.

In a statement on Wednesday, the Ministry of Transport (MOT) said that the claims made by Goh were false.

"Mr S. Iswaran was appointed as Minister for Transport from May 15, 2021, to Jan 17, 2024," the ministry said.

"Throughout this period, LTA did not award any contract to any of Mr David Lum Kok Seng's companies."

One of Lum’s companies, Lum Chang Building Contractors, has two ongoing projects with the LTA - Addition and Alteration Works to Tanah Merah MRT Station and the existing viaducts, and the construction of North-South Corridor tunnel between Ang Mo Kio Avenue 3 and Ang Mo Kio Avenue 9.

But MOT said that the contracts for these projects were awarded in October 2016 and December 2018, before Iswaran was appointed as transport minister.

"LTA has not awarded any contract to Lum Chang Building Contractors since 2019," they added.

Each page was required to carry a correction notice stating that their post making the claim contained falsehoods.

Goh has since amended the posts to include the notice.

This is the second time that Goh had run afoul of the 'fake news' law.

In 2021, the Ministry of Health (MOH) instructed the Pofma office to issue the correction direction to Goh, for making false claims about the Covid-19 variant Omicron. 

Iswaran has pleaded not guilty to the additional charges.

He now faces a total of 35 charges after his first appearance in court on Jan 18.

ALSO READ: Who is Lum Kok Seng, the man named in Iswaran's latest charges?

chingshijie@asiaone.com