POFMA order issued to Han Hui Hui over comments she made about MSF, police
Claudia Tan
The Straits Times
March 17, 2026
A correction direction has been issued to activist Han Hui Hui over comments she made in a video posted on Facebook concerning the treatment she received over the welfare of her three children.
The POFMA Office – which administers the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (POFMA) – was instructed by the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) to issue the correction direction to Ms Han under Singapore's fake news law, said MSF and the Singapore Police Force (SPF) in a joint statement on March 17.
Under the order, the 33-year-old mother of three children – aged three, five and six – is required to put up a new post with a link to the Government's clarification regarding the falsehoods carried in her since-deleted live stream.
The Straits Times understands that this is the first time a POFMA correction direction has been issued in relation to falsehoods about the Government's handling of children under protective care.
The statement identified seven falsehoods in the videos which were posted on her social media accounts after her children were taken into protective care on Feb 15.
The falsehoods include the claim that MSF takes away children from families despite knowing that there is no abuse, so as to be able to show a high reconciliation rate, and that Ms Han did not sign any agreement with MSF regarding the placement of her children in protective care.
According to the statement, Ms Han had also falsely claimed that MSF is seeking to withhold the truth about the children's physical condition by telling Ms Han not to film or photograph the children, and that MSF has threatened to deny Ms Han access to her children unless she deletes her social media posts that are not aligned with existing government policies.
The falsehoods also include the claim that MSF is seeking to permanently deprive Ms Han of access to her children, and that the police have not concluded investigations that commenced in August 2025.
According to the statement, the police had received multiple reports from Ms Han and her husband involving allegations of violence against each other, which raised concerns about the safety and welfare of their three children.
Both later consented to a safety plan for the care of the children, which was put in place by a child protection specialist centre in October 2025.
It included a direction to have the children's paternal grandmother, who was designated as a safe adult, move into the home to oversee the care of the children under Ms Han.
Between January and February, the police received fresh reports lodged by Ms Han, her husband and the children's paternal grandmother against one another.
On Feb 15, Ms Han called the police over an alleged altercation between the grandmother and the children.
Police officers who attended to the case assessed that there were immediate concerns about the children's safety.
As the safety plan was no longer feasible, the police decided to remove the three children from the household.
According to the statement, this was done in accordance with the Children and Young Persons Act (CYPA), which enables a police officer to remove a child or young person and put them in a place of temporary care if he or she is deemed to require care or protection.
The children were taken to KK Women's and Children's Hospital (KKH), which was a designated place of temporary care and protection.
On the same day, the police also referred the matter to MSF for further social investigations.
On Feb 19, Ms Han and her husband signed a Voluntary Care Agreement, which recorded their consent for the children to remain in the hospital with separate weekly supervised access while further safe care arrangements were worked out with the family.
Ms Han attended supervised access sessions with her children in the hospital on Feb 20 and 26, as well as on March 1, 3 and 6.
An MSF protection officer had on March 1 informed Ms Han during her visit that she could film and photograph her children to have the images as personal keepsakes, but was not allowed to post the material to protect the children's identities.
The CYPA prohibits the publication of photographs or videos of a child who is the subject of any investigation.
However, Ms Han posted the videos of her March 1 visit on social media on March 7.
On March 11, Ms Han was scheduled for another supervised visit at KKH. When she was told she could not post photos or videos of her children, she began live-streaming her interaction with the protection officer.
She was unable to visit her children when she refused to listen to instructions to stop filming.
MSF said it has never threatened to deny Ms Han access to her children unless she deleted her social media posts that are not aligned with existing government policies.
Conditional warnings
The statement also said that investigations into reports that were lodged by Ms Han and her family members between August and December 2025 have concluded.
Ms Han was issued a conditional warning on Feb 9, and her husband was issued a conditional warning on Feb 11. The statement did not provide details of what the conditional warnings were about.
According to the statement, there were new police reports lodged by Ms Han, her husband and his mother against one another between January and February, which are still under investigation.
In the wake of the Feb 15 incident, MSF assessed that it was necessary to establish additional safeguards before the children could be returned to the family.
"Following a family conference on March 16, MSF worked collaboratively with Ms Han and her husband, to put in place these additional safeguards, and the children were returned to Ms Han's care on March 16," the statement said.
SPF and the ministry said Ms Han and her husband have jointly agreed to the involvement of newly appointed safe adults from within the extended family to undertake additional check-ins on the children, through physical visits and video calls.
Ms Han and her husband will also receive targeted professional interventions by an MSF-appointed agency to address the use of violence against each other and the triangulation of their children in their conflict, and strengthen safe parenting practices.
According to the statement, MSF and professionals will work closely with the services in place for the children such as schools, after-school service and home visitation programme to monitor and support their safety and well-being.
"These professionals will alert MSF if any concerns are observed," MSF and SPF added.
The ministry said child removal is a last resort with reunification as the end goal.
"Families are generally the best environment for children to thrive. Parents play a critical role in their children's growing-up years and in nurturing relationships within the family unit.
"Family issues are typically private matters that can be resolved within the family unit with support services like marriage counselling," the ministry added.
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