The Secretary-General of PSP Leong Mun Wai was issued with a POFMA for publishing falsehoods on Facebook and Instagram that a couple residing in West Coast did not receive financial assistance other than a caregiving grant.
Mr Leong identified the couple with a photograph. He has since taken down the posts and put up another post saying that he had been “drawn in” by the couple’s description of the hard times they had fallen on.
Financial assistance for daily expenses
In his posts, he claimed that the couple only receives a Home Caregiving Grant (HCG), and currently does not receive any other form of financial assistance from public sector agencies in relation to their daily expenses.
The truth is that the couple also receives financial assistance each month from the People’s Association in the form of NTUC vouchers (since February 2022) and Community Development Council Utilities Vouchers (since March 2022).
Since 2021, the couple has received approximately $39,000 in cash and vouchers from various public sector agencies and community partners. This included $21,000 in ComCare assistance from May 2021 to April 2023.
MediSave funds
Mr Leong also falsely claimed that that the woman had used up most of the funds in her MediSave account to pay for an operation on her leg.
The truth is that the woman paid about $240 in cash payment.
The inpatient treatment at Ng Teng Fong General Hospital (NTFGH), including her leg operation, was about $8,580. After Government subsidies of about $6,300, MediShield Life and MediSave, her remaining bill amount was about $240.
Prior to her leg operation, the woman had more than $60,000 in her MediSave account. As at 12 February 2024, she continues to maintain a balance of more than $60,000 in her MediSave account.
Physiotherapy
Mr Leong falsely claimed that the woman stopped attending physiotherapy sessions at a hospital because she had to pay $100 to the hospital for each session.
The truth is that the physiotherapy sessions cost $25 per session after Government subsidies. And all of the sessions were fully covered by MediFund. She did not have to pay any cash out-of-pocket.
Assistance for transport costs
Mr Leong’s posts also falsely claimed that the couple’s application to a public sector agency for assistance with transport costs was rejected.
The truth is that the Ministry of Transport granted their household’s application for the Public Transport Voucher (PTV) in the 2021 exercise. PTVs were also granted to them in the 2022 and 2023 exercises. The man had in fact, just redeemed the 2023 PTVs on 15 January 2024.
In addition, he has also been receiving subsidised medical escort and transport services from community care providers since 2021.
When the woman fractured her ankle, the Silver Generation Office (SGO) offered to refer her to subsidised medical escort and transport services, but she had declined the offer.
Non-financial support
The man concerned is 60-years-old who had lost his sight to glaucoma while the woman is 55-years-old. They currently have more than $100,000 in total in both their CPF Retirement Accounts.
The woman was entitled to and did withdraw $5,000 from her CPF account in April 2023.
The man has been receiving the HCG since November 2022. Since March 2023, the HCG provides him with $400 each month.
The couple also receive non-financial support.
An officer from the People’s Association visits the couple regularly, and has ferried them for hospital visits, bought meals for them when they could not leave the house and helped them run other errands.
Leong Mun Wai's reasons...
In his subsequent post after being pofma-ed, Mr Leong said that he had been “drawn in” by the couple’s description of the hard times they had fallen on.
He wrote, “I spoke about their circumstances, and the assistance they were given in a 12 Feb 2024 post on my Facebook and Instagram pages, not knowing that this may not be the full picture.”
Mr Leong should have made enquiries and verified with the relevant authorities before making his social media posts. But he did not. Instead, he took every detail of the story at face value because he had been ‘drawn in’ by their descriptions of the hard times they had fallen in.
False statements, such as those made by Mr Leong in his social media posts, erode public trust and mislead the public about the support that is available and provided to families who are in need.
