Singapore attempts to censor Facebook post of PM's brother with 'correction order'

Singapore's government on Tuesday ordered Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's estranged brother to correct a post on his Facebook page that it said contained falsehoods about a recent controversy over cabinet ministers renting state properties.

The law ministry said in a statement Lee Hsien Yang's post earlier this week made "untrue statements" that violated a law regulating online content, including that the state had paid for renovations at the large bungalows because they were leased by two senior ministers.

"The identity of the tenants had no bearing on the decision on the works to be carried out on the properties," the ministry statement said.

The government has cleared the two ministers of wrongdoing, saying there was no evidence to suggest abuse of position for personal gain.

Lee Hsien Yang has been ordered to publish a correction under the Protection From Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (POFMA), the law ministry said on Tuesday.

Asked to comment, Lee Hsien Yang told Reuters in a text message that he intended to publish a statement about the order later on Wednesday.

Lee Hsien Yang, 65, has been embroiled in a bitter dispute with his older brother, the prime minister, over a house owned by their late father and modern Singapore's founder, Lee Kuan Yew.

Singapore, usually a beacon of political stability, has been rocked by scandals in the past month. Lawmakers from both the ruling and opposition parties, including the house speaker, quit last week after engaging in "inappropriate relationships", and the transport minister is under investigation by the anti-graft bureau.