SINGAPORE, Dec 24 — The Edge Singapore issued an apology to Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam and Manpower Minister Tan See Leng today for publishing a Bloomberg article on its website.

According to Channel News Asia (CNA), the article, titled ‘Singapore Mansion Deals Are Increasingly Shrouded in Secrecy’, was the focus of a Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (POFMA) correction order issued to several entities on Monday.

The article discussed Good Class Bungalow (GCB) transactions in Singapore and contained several statements that the government later identified as false.

Shanmugam and Tan, who were mentioned in the article, considered it libellous and, on December 16 — four days after the article was first published by Bloomberg — indicated they would be issuing Letters of Demand to Bloomberg and other outlets that reproduced the article in whole or in part.

As reported by CNA today, The Edge acknowledged that the article it reproduced, along with an accompanying Facebook post, "meant and were understood to mean that (Mr Shanmugam/Dr Tan) took advantage of there being no checks and balances or disclosure requirements in purchasing a property in a non-transparent manner and that (Mr Shanmugam/Dr Tan) wanted to hide (their) transaction(s) and avoid scrutiny, including about the possibility of money laundering”.

According to a Facebook post, Bloomberg reports that an increasing number of people are purchasing homes through trusts, concealing the identities of the owners.

The Edge also apologised to the two ministers for the "distress and embarrassment” caused by the article and Facebook post.

"We have removed the article and the post and undertake not to make any allegations or publish any articles and/or posts containing any allegations to the same or similar effect,” The Edge was quoted as saying.

CNA said that it has reached out to The Edge, Shanmugam, and Tan for additional comments.