The Singaporean man who died in Bali last week after falling off a cliff was not taking a selfie as news media previously reported, the man’s family says.
Lead by the Straits Times and Channel News Asia, media reported on May 22, 2015 that 21-year-old Mohamed Aslam Shahrul died at Sandi Bay Beach, Nusa Lembongan when taking a selfie.
But, Shahrul’s family later clarified that he was not taking a selfie at the time of his death and was actually taking pictures of the sunset, resulting in the Straits Times deleting the initial report and editing their story.
Here’s how the Straits Times modified their report:
“According to the friends who were with him there, he wasn’t taking a selfie,” said the relative, who added that two friends tried to jump in to save him but were foiled by strong waves.
Though Straits Times has not yet issued a public apology, Channel News Asia never even took down their original story or made any edits based on the family’s clarification.
Shahrul’s tragic death was apparently just three days after he graduated from Temasek Polytechnic. He and eight other friends had arrived in Nusa Lembonan last Thursday, a small island southeast of Bali.
Editor’s note: Earlier today, we published a story on this matter saying that the accident happened while Mr. Mohamad Aslam was taking a selfie, based on reports from the Jakarta Post. In light of recent comments from his family to the Straits Times saying that he was not taking a selfie, we have deleted the original post and published this modified and corrected story.
Photo: Flickr
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