Kenneth Jeyaretnam issued second POFMA order over comments on Ridout Road rentals
A composite photo showing Reform Party chief Kenneth Jeyaretnam and an aerial view of the Ridout Road estate. (Image: Facebook/Kenneth Jeyaretnam, Screengrab)
SINGAPORE: Reform Party leader Kenneth Jeyaretnam has been issued a second correction direction over comments he made about the rental of black-and-white bungalows at Ridout Road by two ministers.
His latest comments, posted on Facebook and LinkedIn on Jul 27, alleged that the Singapore Land Authority (SLA) had charged Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam and Foreign Affairs Minister Vivian Balakrishnan rent at below market value for the Ridout Road properties.
This is an untrue statement, the Ministry of Law said in a media release on Wednesday (Aug 2).
Under the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (POFMA), Mr Jeyaretnam will be required to carry a correction notice on his Facebook and LinkedIn posts, stating that it contains a false statement of fact, and include a link to the government's clarification.
"As established in the review conducted by Senior Minister Teo Chee Hean, the rental paid by both ministers were at fair market value and not below market valuation," said the Ministry of Law.
"There was no evidence that the ministers were given favourable rental rates due to their positions."
This is the second POFMA order issued to Mr Jeyaretnam in recent weeks. He was instructed to put up a correction notice in July over claims he made in an article on his website.
GUIDE RENT
In its press release on Wednesday, the Law Ministry reiterated that the rental paid by the ministers for both properties was not less than the respective guide rents.
The guide rent, determined by professional valuers, must be calculated for all state properties available for rent and is the "key mechanism through which SLA ensures that state properties are rented out at fair market value".
The valuers are from SLA’s independent valuation team or valuers appointed by professional third-party managing agents.
In determining the guide rent, the valuers look into various factors, including location, use, floor area, physical condition of the property and prevailing market conditions, and reference is made to rentals of comparable properties.
"For 26 Ridout Road, a professional valuer from SLA determined the guide rent for the site, including the adjacent land to the site," said the ministry.
"The SLA valuer did not know the identity of the prospective tenant for 26 Ridout Road at the material time, and only learnt that the tenant was Minister Shanmugam after the matter was reported in the media."
It added that it is market practice for rental valuation of such properties to be based primarily on the gross floor area of the property - and the valuation of the rental of 26 Ridout Road followed established market practice.
"The rent per unit floor area for 26 Ridout Road was the third highest, when compared to that of the other nine black-and-white bungalows in the Ridout Road estate which were tenanted out in 2018," said the ministry.
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LEASING THE ADJACENT LAND
Mr Shanmugam, in his interview with the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) and in parliament, said he initially did not want to lease the adjacent land as there would be legal obligations attached to leasing it.
"However, SLA’s preference was to include the adjacent land within the property boundary of 26 Ridout Road," said MinLaw.
"That would make it clear that the responsibility for maintaining the adjacent land would fall on the tenant, as would the legal obligations," it added.
SLA negotiated an agreement in which the adjacent land would be included within the property boundary, with the tenant responsible for maintaining it.
"For completeness, Minister Shanmugam incurred the cost of maintaining the adjacent land, which would otherwise be borne by SLA."
A check by CNA on Thursday morning showed that Mr Jeyaretnam had put up correction notices on his LinkedIn and Facebook posts.
