PUBLISHED ONApril 23, 2024 10:03 AMByAshwini BalanA 26-year-old man is expected to be charged in court on Apr 24 for his involvement in the defamation of KK Women's and Children's Hospital (KKH) over alleged miscarriage claims, said the police in a media statement on Tuesday (Apr 23).
The article titled "The baby is probably dead - Woman shares a harrowing account of her miscarriage at KKH A&E" was published on alternative news source Wake Up Singapore's (WUSG) website, Facebook page, and Instagram page on March 23, 2022.
The article alleged that a pregnant patient suffered a miscarriage after waiting four hours to see a doctor at KKH for Covid-19 treatment and abdominal pains.
The hospital lodged a police report over falsehoods made in the article two days later.
In the media release, the police said they consulted the Attorney-General's Chambers after receiving the police report from KKH and were authorised to investigate the matter.
Investigations showed that the man was allegedly the administrator for WUSG's website, Facebook and Instagram, the police added. Further investigations also found that the allegations in the article were false.
The Ministry of Health (MOH), in a media release back in March 27, 2022 said that subsequent investigations by KKH confirmed that the patient had been seen by a doctor within an hour of her arrival at the hospital in February, and that she did not suffer any miscarriage.
Following the police report, WUSG issued an apology and put out a statement that that it had been lied to by the patient and that her recollection was "incorrect".
MOH also said then that notwithstanding WUSG's apology, "the allegations are serious and have been circulated to various other platforms".
The news platform was later issued a correction direction by the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (Pofma) Office, following MOH's statement.
If found guilty of defamation, one can be punished with imprisonment for a term of up to two years, or with a fine, or both.
ashwini.balan@asiaone.com