STOMP apologises for erroneous article on
open SMRT train doors
APOLOGY
Statement by STOMP Editor, Azhar
Kasman
STOMP would like to apologise for the
posting on June 20, supposedly showing an SMRT train that left Lakeside station with one set of
doors open. The report, submitted by a STOMP
content producer, has been found to be fabricated.
The content producer, Ms Samantha Ann Francis, had submitted the
photo to STOMP, claiming that she had taken
it when she was at Lakeside MRT Station at
10.15pm on June 19.
Following investigations by our staff, Ms Francis has admitted
that she had in fact taken the photo off a posting on Twitter. The
original tweet has since been removed.
Ms Francis has been dismissed by Singapore Press Holdings, which
owns Stomp.
SPH sent a letter yesterday (24/5) to
SMRT’s interim CEO Tan
Ek Kia apologising for the incident.
Mr Patrick Daniel, editor-in-chief of Singapore Press Holdings’
English and Malay Newspapers Division, said in the letter: “My team
and I would like to apologise unreservedly to SMRT for this erroneous report by one of our staff. We
truly regret the damage this has caused SMRT.”
He added: “Aside from breaching our professional ethics, what Ms
Francis has done goes against all the values that we stand
for.”
As STOMP editor, I would also like to
personally apologise to SMRT and members of
the public for this erroneous article in STOMP. I deeply regret that one of our staff breached
professional ethics and posted a fabricated report.
I would like to assure the public and all STOMP readers that the website does not tolerate such
unethical behaviour.
We will also be reviewing our operating procedures and will do
everything we can to prevent such a lapse from recurring.
from stomp
