Complaint against Singapore doctor for posting anti-Islam comments
What's the story
A police report has been filed against a doctor in Singapore for allegedly making comments against Islam and Muslims on social media. Dr. Kho Kwang Po had recently co-authored an open letter calling for a halt to Singapore's COVID-19 vaccination program for young men. According to a news report by The Straits Times, the report was filed against the doctor for his Facebook posts.
Investigations
Screenshots of several past posts were circulated on websites recently
Investigations into the matter are underway. According to the daily, Dr. Kho said he was unaware of the police report and declined to comment when contacted. Screenshots of several of Dr. Kho's alleged Facebook posts commenting on Muslims and Islam were circulated on several websites recently, it said. In a post last year, he allegedly wrote that there was much violence associated with Muslims.
Information
Dr. Kho posted an open letter on his Facebook page
In a post in 2019, he questioned why this religion needed protection from criticism. Last Saturday, Dr. Kho had posted an open letter on his Facebook page addressed to Professor Benjamin Ong, chairman of Singapore's expert committee on COVID-19 vaccination.
Letter
The letter noted a 13-year-old boy's death post vaccination
Initially signed by four other doctors, the letter noted that a 13-year-old boy in the US had died days after he got his second dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. The letter said the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) had just begun investigations into his death from heart failure after vaccination with an mRNA vaccine.
Details
Singapore should stop vaccinating young people: Doctors
The doctors said Singapore should stop vaccinating young people until the US CDC and organizations elsewhere have produced more robust and convincing data on the case. In response, the Ministry of Health said reports about the child's death in the US did not state heart failure as a cause, as alleged in the open letter, and that the matter was still under investigation.
Involvement
Doctors behind the open letter misinforming the public: David Lye
Associated Professor David Lye, a senior infectious diseases specialist from the National Centre for Infectious Diseases, also said that the doctors behind the open letter were misleading and misinforming the public. Prof Lye also noted that three of the doctors were involved in an earlier letter published by 12 doctors calling for children to be given traditional COVID-19 vaccines.
Other details
These doctors suggested administering traditional vaccines, such as Sinovac
In the letter, some traditional vaccines were suggested such as the Sinovac one, instead of mRNA ones from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, which are part of Singapore's national program. They claimed that it was not known what side effects from these vaccines might surface 10 to 20 years down the road. This view was also debunked by the expert committee, The Straits Times report said.