POFMA order for blogger Leong Sze Hian over false, misleading statement on housing grants

SINGAPORE: Blogger and financial adviser Leong Sze Hian was issued a Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (POFMA) correction direction on Monday (Aug 26).
The Ministry of National Development (MND) said Mr Leong had published a Facebook post on Aug 21 that contained a “false and misleading statement” regarding housing grants disbursed to eligible first-time home buyers of resale flats. 
In his post, Mr Leong claimed that no income means-test is applicable to Housing and Development Board (HDB) grants for resale flats. 
This statement is false, said MND.
Mr Leong also claimed in his post that the grants were given to help “richer people” to purchase “more expensive resale flats”.
“HDB’s housing grants provide direct and targeted support to first-time home buyers to afford their homes, with more support for lower-to-middle income households,” MND said. 
HDB’s resale grants for first-timer families comprise the Enhanced CPF Housing Grant (EHG), CPF Housing Grant (CPF HG) and the Proximity Housing Grant (PHG).
The EHG and the CPF HG are both means-tested, said the ministry. 
MND said the EHG is progressively tiered so that lower-income buyers receive more support, ensuring that those in need will receive more help. 
With the most recent enhancements, first-timer families can receive up to S$120,000 (US$92,200). 
For the CPF HG, only eligible first-time home buyers of resale flats with a monthly household income not exceeding S$14,000 can qualify for the grant. 
They may receive S$80,000 if buying a 2-room to 4-room resale flat, or S$50,000 if buying a 5-room or larger resale flat.
Mr Leong is required to insert a notice stating that his Facebook post contains a false statement, with a link to the government’s clarification. 
Checks by CNA showed that he added the correction notice to his post at about 2.15pm on Monday.
Mr Leong previously made headlines after he was sued by then Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in 2018 for defamation.
This came after he shared an article alleging that Mr Lee had helped former Malaysian counterpart Najib Razak launder money.
In 2021, Mr Leong paid Mr Lee a total of about S$262,327. This comprised S$133,000 that he was ordered by the court to pay in damages and S$129,327 in costs. These amounts were raised through crowdfunding.