95 social media accounts linked to businessman go offline as ordered

Fica invoked to block posts alleging Singapore is being controlled by China

- Judith Tan and Osmond Chia

Ninety-five social media accounts that published posts alleging Singapore was being controlled by China have gone offline in the city-state, after the authorities on July 19 directed five platforms to block them.

A check on July 20 by The Straits Times on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok and X – formerly known as Twitter – revealed that previously uploaded posts pushing these allegations were unavailable, and that the accounts behind them had been suspended or terminated.

It was the first time the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) gave orders under the Foreign Interference (Countermeasures) Act (Fica) to block these accounts from Singapore-based users.

The posts by the accounts were linked to Guo Wengui – a self-exiled Chinese businessman, Communist Party of China (CPC) critic and convicted fraudster. They put forward the claim that China was involved in the selection of Singapore’s fourth-generation leader.

Guo, also known as Ho Wan Kwok, Miles Guo and Miles Kwok, was convicted in the United States on July 16 over stealing hundreds of millions of dollars from online followers.

He was convicted on nine of the 12 criminal counts faced, including racketeering conspiracy and wire fraud, in a trial that lasted seven weeks.