The Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) has slapped Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) Radio with a fine of S$7,000 for breaching the Free-To-Air Radio Programme Code. 

The penalty comes a couple of months after Kiss92FM’s morning show hosts – Maddy Barber, Jason Johnson and Arnold Gay, made some racially insensitive remarks on January 11.

The comments were made while discussing a study on the sleep patterns of Singaporeans.

The study showed that six in 10 Chinese participants had enough sleep, compared to about four in 10 Malays and Indians.

In a statement, IMDA said: “A key obligation under the code is for broadcasters to avoid racial and religious stereotyping and ensure that content which denigrates or is likely to offend the sensitivities of any racial or religious group in Singapore is not aired.”

“A key obligation under the code is for broadcasters to avoid racial and religious stereotyping and ensure that content which denigrates or is likely to offend the sensitivities of any racial or religious group in Singapore is not aired,” it added.

The station has already apologised on its Facebook page after complaints about the comments appeared online.

Maddy Barber posted a statement saying “it was not our intention to hurt or belittle anyone or any race.”

“Most of us on the show, including me, come from a multi-racial family, and a tolerant society has always been what we stand for on the show.

“I can understand how, when parts of what was said are taken out of the full context of the repartee among us DJs, they can be misconstrued to mean something we never intended,” she wrote.