HDB executive allegedly leaked information on flat inspections to tenant; both charged under Official Secrets Act

SINGAPORE — Two men were charged on Wednesday (May 12) under the Official Secrets Act over an alleged leak of information relating to inspections of a Housing and Development Board (HDB) unit in Bukit Merah.

Kalayarasan Karuppaya, a 54-year-old Singaporean, had allegedly informed Damandeep Singh, a 22-year-old India national, of impending inspections by HDB of the unit along Kim Tian Road on three occasions in 2019.

Karuppaya was then a higher estate executive with HDB, court documents showed. He was not authorised to reveal this information to Singh, who was the registered tenant of the unit. 

Singh, on his part, was alleged to have received the information while having reasonable grounds to believe that it was communicated to him in contravention of the Act, the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau said in a statement on Wednesday.

Both men face three charges each for offences under the Act. 

If found guilty, they could each be punished with a fine of up to S$2,000 and up to two years’ jail.

The men are scheduled to return to court on June 8, and bail has been offered at S$5,000 for Karuppaya and S$10,000 for Singh.