In a post on its Facebook page, the ministry said the numbers provided during the p-hailing safety campaign programme on April 9 did not specifically refer to two-thirds of the total 2,576 road deaths involving p-hailing riders.

P-hailing is defined as services involving the delivery of food, drinks and parcels using motorcycles.

The post also included transport minister Wee Ka Siong’s quotes during the campaign, where he said: “Despite the implementation of the MCO, road deaths (averaged) 12 a day, which is not a small number. More than 60%, or nearly two-thirds, involved motorcyclists in general.

“However, the ones who used the roads most during the MCO were those involved in essential services. Food delivery comes under essential services,” Wee had said.

The ministry said it took note of the viral messages on the numbers published by news portals and on social media as well as WhatsApp.

“The MoT hopes that news reports including screenshots related to the inaccurate figures will not be disseminated anymore to avoid confusion.”