Online safety watchdog orders removal of TikTok post linking woman to Faishal case

SINGAPORE - A TikTok post that claimed that a fitness instructor was involved in former acting minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs Faishal Ibrahim’s resignation has been taken down, following an order from the new Online Safety Commission.

The OSC, which began operations on June 29, is a one-stop agency to help victims of online harms secure swift content takedowns and restrict offender accounts.

A complaint about the post and others was lodged on July 28, said an OSC spokesperson in response to ST’s queries.

“Following assessment of the report and determination that online harmful activity had taken place, the OSC took action in relation to the post, which was no longer available as of the evening of July 28,” said the spokesperson.

“The OSC is currently looking into other content identified in the report and will take the appropriate action where necessary.”

The OSC did not identify the complainant.

ST has contacted OSC for more information on the nature of the TikTok post, and other content it is investigating.

Separately, Rasidah Caudal, the woman named in the offending TikTok post, had rejected claims that she was the woman involved in Faishal’s resignation.

The TikTok post was accompanied by a screenshot of a text message sent by an unknown person on Telegram, who used a photo of Caudal and claimed that she had caused Faishal to resign.

In an Instagram post on July 27, Caudal said that her only contact with him were during two fitness events held at Kampung Ubi Community Centre.

In a Facebook post on the same day, Acting Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs Zaqy Mohamad said that a woman had been wrongly identified as the person involved in Faishal’s case, and exposed to false accusations and abusive comments.

He added that no innocent person should have to endure such harassment because of unfounded speculation.

Zaqy took over as acting minister on July 20 after Faishal’s resignation from politics over inappropriate interactions with an unidentified woman.

“Many of us are still trying to come to terms with the hurt and disappointment of recent events. But even then, we should not cause the same pain to others,” said Zaqy.

Around 200 cases of online harm have been reported to the 40-strong agency since it began work in June. This includes two children whose phone numbers and photos were posted online, and a survivor who had their intimate recording uploaded to a pornographic website without consent.