37-year-old public servant arrested for allegedly sharing classified information on Tampines stabbing

SINGAPORE — A 37-year-old man has been arrested under the Official Secrets Act for allegedly sharing an image of an official police document relating to a stabbing incident at Tampines last Wednesday (Feb 10).

In a statement on Monday, the police said they were alerted that an image of an official document — a police look-out message sent to various law enforcement agencies on the day of the incident — had been posted on social media and circulated online on messaging applications amongst members of the public.

Preliminary investigations showed that the man is a public servant from another agency and an authorised recipient of this classified information, the police said.

He had allegedly taken a photograph of the look-out message and shared it via WhatsApp with his friend, a 60-year-old man, who was not authorised to receive the information.

The message was then further disseminated by the elder man to other unauthorised recipients.

The message had been issued at about 7.30am on Feb 10 to the agencies, after the identity of the suspect involved in the stabbing was established. The message is believed to have contained his photo, personal particulars and the police report number.

The incident was reported at about 6.30am that day.

That same day, police had said in a statement that when officers arrived at the scene at Blk 206 Tampines Street 21, they found a 42-year-old woman injured with slash wounds to the neck and lying motionless at the void deck of the block.

A 45-year-old man, who is believed to be the assailant and known to the woman, was subsequently found lying motionless at about 9.10am at the foot of his flat at Blk 205A Punggol Field.

The police added that both the woman and the man were unconscious when separately sent to the hospitals and they subsequently passed away and police investigations into the unnatural deaths were ongoing.

They also said that an image of an official document and a photo of the female deceased had been shared online and on messaging platforms, and urged the public not to circulate them.

“The Government takes a serious view of any wrongful communication of confidential information and will deal firmly with anyone who does so,” the police said on Monday, adding that investigations are ongoing.

The offence of wrongful communication of information under the Official Secrets Act carries a fine of up to S$2,000 and up to two years’ jail time.

"Unauthorised recipients should not further circulate the confidential information received, as they may be similarly liable under the Official Secrets Act," the police added.

This is not the first time that public servants have been arrested for sharing classified information.

In June last year, a 50-year-old man was arrested for sharing information on Singapore’s post-circuit breaker plans on WhatsApp.

And in April, a 35-year-old civil servant was arrested after she allegedly shared the number of new Covid-19 cases with members of a private WeChat group who were not authorised to receive the information.