PAP MP: Someone has deliberately circulated a falsehood following our Father’s Day walkabout

People’s Action Party (PAP) Member of Parliamant (MP) for Moulmein-Cairnhill, Melvin Yong, took to social media on Sunday to debunk online falsehoods spread about chocolates given out by PAP activists.

In a Facebook post, Yong wrote, “Dear friends,

It has come to my attention that someone has deliberately circulated a falsehood following our Father’s Day walkabout this morning”.

During their walkabout at Pek Kio Market on Sunday morning to celebrate Father’s Day, Yong and his team gave out bars of Cadbury chocolate.

Following the event, messages started circulating on social media and Whatsapp messenger alleging that the small chocolate bars had expired in January of 2011.

According to the photos circulating, the series of numbers printed on the back of the chocolates read “09/01/2011 050”. Some of these numbers comprised of serial numbers or codes, as also stated on the back of the wrapper was “BEST BEFORE (DD/MM/YY), indicating that the chocolates’ expiry date was January 2020.

In his Facebook post, Yong explained, “The photo that accompanied the false claim clearly shows that the expiry date on the chocolate wrapper is 9 January 2020. The wrapper also indicates that the format for the BEST BEFORE date is “DD/MM/YY” (e.g. 09/01/20).

Yong also added that the bars could not have expired in 2011 because the Cocoa Life organization was only started in 2012.

Netizens who commented on the post said that since the chocolates were free, people should just accept it without complaint.

The Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Bill (Pofma) was passed by Parliament on Wednesday (May 8). POFMA gives the authorities the power to issue a Correction Direction against someone who published a falsehood. /TISG