Stomp editor apologizes for false picture on website

Stomp editor Azhar Kasman apologized to train operator SMRT on Friday for a false picture posted on the citizen journalism website by one of its employees.

He also expressed regret that he did not cooperate promptly with SMRT staff during its investigation into the picture that purported to show a train moving with a set of its doors open.

It was posted last week by Samantha Francis, 23, a Stomp content producer.

She has since been sacked.

Azhar was writing in response to a letter from SMRT's interim chief executive Tan Ek Kia, which said that he had withheld material information from SMRT staff after the picture was first posted.

'This was a serious error of judgment on my part,'  Azhar, 32, wrote. 'I can only say in mitigation that as a relatively new editor, this was the first time I was dealing with a situation like this.'

He said he hoped to learn from this mistake, and that Stomp's operations would be tightened to prevent a repeat of such an incident.

On Friday, Stomp addressed on its website some of the questions that have swirled since the incident.

It said that posts from its staff would no longer be put up under nicknames but instead be clearly attributed to 'The Stomp team'.

It also made clear that Stomp - which has one editor and six content-producers - does not pay for content contributed by members of the public.