SPH overstated its daily circulation numbers, among other findings, a report by its audit and risk committee showed. Read more at straitstimes.com.
Here are the key findings by the legal advisers.1. The Newspapers in Education Fund and bulk copies
It was set up to pay for the distribution of bulk copies to students, needy families, halfway houses and charities to increase SPH publications’ readership.was common knowledge. Management reports by the circulation division that were presented to the chief executive and board referred to “bulk” and “booster” copies. Booster copies were understood to be used to increase circulation numbers.
The number of NIE bulk copies would usually be the highest in August as these numbers would be used in SPH’s annual report. Printing and distributing bulk copies to third parties is not illegal or prohibited under the rules of the Audit Bureau of Circulations Singapore.This means that the circulation numbers in SPH’s annual reports for FY2020 and 2021, and the biannual and annual submissions to the Infocomm Media Development Authority and SingStat were inflated.
However, some money earned from customers were booked into the NIE Fund as liabilities instead of revenue. While the board was aware of the existence of barter deals, there is no evidence that they were told of the operational details of these deals.While barter deals between media organisations are legitimate and long-established practices and not, in and of themselves, improper, the barter deal could have evolved into a questionable arrangement if entered into for the sole purpose of inflating circulation numbers and revenue without a genuine intention to execute the arrangement.
For FY2020, an employee directed the circulation division to stop printing and delivering ST print copies to schools at the schools’ request, but to continue reporting these copies as part of ST’s print circulation numbers.The following year, the package was revised to exclude the ST print copy, leading to a reduction of 1,900 daily circulation numbers for ST print copies.
The report said there was no available evidence that the SPH’s board or its senior management, aside from some redacted names, knew about the issues surrounding the school copies.“Avatar” was understood among interviewees who were aware of the term to mean “throw away”. The reading-corner copies were printed during school closures and delivered to Kaki Bukit, and some were eventually disposed of.
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