From the blog, DK Dot As Gee:
I don’t buy The New Paper on a regularly basis. But I purposely went around searching for a copy of 28 May 2009 issue of TNP after hearing from someone on twitter saying that TNP published the name of the first Singaporean girl who caught the H1N1 virus. At first I didn’t believe the twitter-er. I thought the media were told not to publish the name of the lady who caught the H1N1 virus. I thought they would be responsible enough. I was wrong. TNP really published the name of the lady who caught H1N1 virus.
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And to sensationalize the story, The New Paper wrote this on the front page: “ZERO TOLERANCE? NETIZENS FLAME S’PORE’S FIRST H1N1 VICTIM. SUE HER, SAY SOME”. I was quite shocked to see this. I thought Singapore netizens have become more mature and responsible recently. In fact, I didn’t came across any blog/forum/twitter that flame the girl. Curious to find out who is the black sheep among the netizen, I read the article. It appears that all the netizen being mentioned in the article are from Stomp. My first reaction was “What else do you expect from Stomp?”. Stompers are famous for such irresponsible posting. Just browse thru the site and you will surely shake your head in disbelief. There have been calls to shut down stomp because of all the irresponsible posting by the Stompers and lack of regulations.
Read the full article here.
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Excellent Observation! Not only TNP is a tabloid, it is slowly but surely morphing into a dirt-gossip-flame-slander tabloid.
Yeah…it was quite inconsiderate and hurtful to mention the SARS patient as well…and how it affected her family….real bloody fools…..
Then they went on and on about how silly netizens were….I didn’t bother to check where these netizens were…now I know STOMP…..i have never been to the site before…
Please remember the last portion where all credit goes to the KHAW strategy.
which Khaw Boon Wan duly deserves….for getting everything organsied…after SARS, one ought to be prepared….but it seemed like TNP was carrying balls….
Stick to football TNP….and more local football…and events….keep it that way, don’t get into this fray.
The said TNP headlines are really very unfair to netizens..
Perhaps it was done with its clever timing – to coincide with announcements of the changes to the political system……people at TNP may have vested interests and are probably out to quickly score points….to take others down, at others expense, and without any sensitivity or consideration to fellow human beings
Sue Her?? only one group in Sg that will shout ‘Sue’ (and sew) at the smallest instance.
hey guys, do you all think TNP is so stupid? Someone is flaming a fake fire… This will be used by gah-men one day to prove that internet and media need more regulating…. in the name of making Singapore environment safe.
It might not be a bad thing to mention name. Imagine if I attend classes or an interviews and know this person by their name and than later I saw their name mentioned in the paper that they caught H1NI virus, I will be worried and quarantine myself imediately or see a doctor for the safety of public. If the person identity is witheld, I might have gotten the virus without me knowing and than squeezed into a heavily packed MRT to work every morning.
@David
If someone’s the first confirmed case of any serious infectious disease AND is still attending classes and going for interviews, then yeah he/she deserves to have her name mentioned but if not, it is very unfair to her
David, I disagree. To a certain extent why we are not seeing a bigger backlash is because the H1N1 virus is not as deadly as initially thought to be. If it is as fatal and deadly as the SARS virus, then I believe such careless and unethical reporting by TNP would have a more telling repercussion.
The medical code of ethics works along the basis of patient confidentiality. In this regard, a patient’s medical history cannot be made known to another unless the patient agrees to have them revealed. Revealing a patient’s name in this instance is as good as revealing the medical history of the patient.
MOH must carry out an investigation to find out where TNP got the information from and how it managed to get hold of the patient’s name. It has to come from somewhere, be it the ambulance driver, the hospital registration clerk, the nurses, the doctors etc. because going by the account of how the young student was so swiftly sent to Tan Tock Seng Hospital, there can be no other possible person other than those who have tended to her prior to the positive diagnosis that could have revealed her identity.
TNP must also be reprimanded by the highest office in the land for allowing such unethical news reporting. I saw on TV just last week how the people of one South American country went after a suspected flu carrier and almost tore him to shreds. We cannot have that here in Singapore and we cannot always pretend to know we know well enough that situation like this will never happen here in Singapore.
Man, this is really unbelieveable!! How could the media publish the name of the victim? It’s really unfair for her & her family as they will be naive Singaporeans thinking that the H1N1 is as deadly as AIDS! These ignorant people will try all means to discriminate the victim & her family, & to be honest, it’s not a sickness that the victim got cos he/she was ‘naughty’ or it was something she asked for! I just hope the victim’s friends or neighbours could be more understanding towards him/her.
@David
If her name is already up in the news do you really think she will still be sitting next to you, attending the same class as you, etc?
It’s immature for trashy papers to stoop so low but equally immature for netizens to react adversely without compassion. The reanson why the Gah-men needs to come up rules every now and then in simply because there are far too many immature people around.
One classic example is how the so-called “educated (my a$$)” have to be taught by observing yellow lines drawn at MRT stations so that they can give way, queue and be gracious. Words, alphabets and every other communicable language have thus failed and only simple symbols work.
Go figure.
The art of circular argument – you create the problem, you report the problem, you cite the problem, you discuss the problem, and then you conclude that the problem IS the problem.
Sheesh…
David: I have to disagree with you on this. What the media can do (and have been doing) is listing out the place that she have been to so that those who are at that area during that time can take extra precaution if they fall sick. MOH is also tracing all the people who might have close contact with those who caught the H1N1 virus.
It is totally unnecessary to publish her name on TNP.
Again, there is absolutely nothing we can do about it.
Stomp! Huh….only good for people whom like to complain about people not giving up seats, eating on mrt, ad nauseam….
H1N1 virus is a flu and curable too, please don’t made it sound like a shameful thing because nobody expect to get it in our highly mobile populations. We don’t want to give the impression that it is something deadly and the person should be shunned & unnamed. Singapore must grow up and learn to accept others who happened to be a little unfortunate and start caring for them instead of keeping ourselves aloof. Of course I do agree certain protocol must be observed when disclosing the victim’s name but for this H1N1, I fear not because the victim will emerge strong an immune to the virus once she recover.
Why TNP wanted to shame her?
Because she “spolit the market”.
How?
Mega events are happening in s’pore now or coming soon.
1) Great Singapore Sale…..ongoing.
2) 2009 Asian Youth Games…… from June 29, 2009 to July 7, 2009 in over 90 sporting events.
3) Singapore vs Liverpool……26 July 2009
4) FORMULA 1 RACING S’pore………25 – 27 Sep 2009
ALL these events generate lots of income for the govt. In fact, spore govt has not much revenue nowadays as TEMASEK HOLDINGS is Bleeding.
If H1N1 cases are getting more & more, who will come for these events? Tourists will not come.
Even with World Health Organisation (WHO) increase the alert BUT Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan (Not medical trained) downgrade the alert.
So say if you have some disease that is infectious you throw shoes at her??
While some Singaporeans are so ungracious, I think TNP would have better sense NOT to publish the name of the person who caught it….well, unless the patient escaped and the public needs to know. And anyway, TNP, the Swine Flu is quite overly-rated. People who have died from it were already weak and with other diseases.
Doctors who reveal confidential information of patients (including name) they see CAN get sued. So…..the question now is, TNP – did you just do something which was:
1. Socially unacceptable and that is not a respectable act
2. a breach of personal confidentiality – which if it is – within our local laws? And if so – a crime of breach where the patient can sue TNP? If TNP committed a breach of personal confidentiality, the health authorities who attended to the patient need to answer WHY names were given to media. (I certainly hope YOUR NAME won’t appear if YOU caught Swine Flu!!)
I left Stompers a long time ago because the more important questions or topics were practically left unanswered. What to do in a community that’s rived with unmoderated false info? Nothing….so I left.
TNP has been trash since day one.
Why headline netizens for TNP’s judgement ? Conclusion – no other stories to write to earn a living? Or purely just like the ST – always offensive, then defensive and judgemental and having the last words no matter what. NO APOLOGIVES whatever,,,,
When their short careers are ended ( beiing prolonged only by seeking attention and trying to be spotted ) these mainstream MSM people are rejects everywhere – these ugly journalists from Editors in chiefs downwards
For H1N1 reporting – they by now should have plenty of experience after SARs to earn their living unless there are so threatened by the new media and like the ST – get onto the offensive ….. whole load of biased old news to read nowadays….
Now it is not only ST, that is trashy, TNP is shitty as well.
Thank you TNP. You made me think a lot! What happens when the first H1N1 victim gets stoned and blamed: http://twurl.nl/ps5dc6
Our mainstream newspapers are trashes and rashes to our eyes and skins. Period.
Ha ha..perhaps the TNP’s editor should write in to defend “their professionalism” like what ST’s Han did
Firstly it isn’t the TNP who’s blaming the victim. TNP simply reported that some netizens from Stomper, criticised and blamed the victim for travelling. In virtual form, it’s called FLAMING. If this is a physical form, it’s called “physical or verbal assault” – bullying.
2ndly, as I did not get a copy of the TNP and from the info of this story here, I understand that TNP printed her NAME (or is it full name)?
May I know WHAT RIGHT has the TNP to print her name? Does the TNP has a court order to put out her name and shame her like a criminal?
3rdly, it doesn’t matter whether Dr. Khaw or SPM Lee Kuan Yew or even if Queen of England spoke or warned against travelling but IS SOMEONE HERE ADMITTING THE GOVERNMENT HAS A PART TO PLAY IN THIS BLAME GAME?
Let’s stop argueing and defending the TNP – if and when they have done wrong. Who instigated TNP to print the victim’s name?
If the government is using this episode as a reason or excuse to regulate the internet, oh yes – start so by regulating TNP more strictly please.
Pay attention to what’s being said by the big shots – are they saying that only H1N1 vaccine can save those infected?
H1N1 can be cured easily with the food you have!! Look closely what Tamiflu has (last used in Sars). Hint: it’s a natural herb found in curries and soup! And some daily sunlight is able to activate/boost your immune system – sunlight is NOT the cause of freckles nor Cancer. You’ve been lied to, as I was believed margarine is healthier than butter. (Anyone who wishes to dispute this can ask me for the scientific/medical evidences. I’ll also be glad to offer you the contacts of the researchers involved.)
Your first shield of health defense is certainly not in the form of a pill or vaccine. We’ve been so brainwashed to accept that a vaccination is a must for newborns when mother’s milk should be the most important “shield” for newborns.
Straits Times, New Paper, Today, My Paper….all are rubbish and dirt! I have not been reading all these crap, sub-standard, useless, garment dogs paper for a long long time……….
Sad but true, the people have gotten smarter than the MSM and you know who. Dirty tactics and ploy, it’s backfiring all the time, isn’t it?. Well, it’s called `Retribution’.