The Police will be charging a 38-year-old woman and a 39-year-old man on 21 April 2021 for offences of wrongful communication of information under the Official Secrets Act.
On 3 April 2020, the Police received a report stating that a draft joint media statement by the Ministry of Social and Family Development and the Ministry of Education to announce details of the implementation of full home-based learning by schools and Institutes of Higher Learning, as well as the closure of pre-schools and student care centres, had been leaked to the public before it was officially released.
Investigations revealed that the woman, who was a public servant and an authorised recipient of the media statement, had allegedly taken a photo of the media statement on her computer screen and shared the image with her husband via WhatsApp on 3 April 2020 at about 9 am. Her husband, who was not an authorised recipient of the media statement, allegedly shared the image with his friends. The image thus became publicly available before the information was officially released. In addition, the woman had also purportedly taken photos of a list of essential services that would continue operating during the Circuit Breaker and sent them to her husband at his request. Both persons will be charged for offences of wrongful communication of information under the Official Secrets Act. The man will also be charged for soliciting the wrongful communication of information under the Official Secrets Act.
16 others who had wrongfully received and further communicated the information downstream will be administered with written advisories for wrongful communication of information under the Official Secrets Act.
The authorities take a serious view of any breach of the Official Secrets Act. The offence of wrongful communication of information under Section 5(1) of the Official Secrets Act is punishable under Section 17(2) of the Official Secrets Act, which carries a fine of up to $2,000 and imprisonment for a term of up to two years. Unauthorised recipients should delete and not further circulate any confidential information received, as they may otherwise be similarly liable under the Official Secrets Act.
SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE
20 April 2021 @ 8:00 PM