HDB officer fined S$2,000 for leaking confidential information to Straits Times journalist

SINGAPORE — A 25-year-old Housing and Development Board (HDB) officer who relayed confidential information to a journalist from The Straits Times was fined S$2,000 under the Official Secrets Act (OSA) on Wednesday (Dec 20).

Ng Han Yuan, who has been suspended from his duties as an estate manager with HDB's resale operations section, pleaded guilty and was handed the maximum fine.

Ng had shared information on a new resale transactions portal with Ms Janice Tai Jia Ling, 29. The project, called "Streamlining of Resale Transactions", had not been made public at the time.

Ng and Ms Tai became acquainted in March this year through the dating application Coffee Meets Bagel and met once a fortnight. Ng was aware that Ms Tai was a reporter with the broadsheet.

On May 31, the pair went out for drinks to celebrate Ng's birthday. During their conversation, Ng shared with Ms Tai what his job entails, as well as details of the HDB project – that the portal would comprise services such as checking of eligibility for grants and loans as well as the possibility of a flat listing service, for instance.

Ng told her about changes to the valuation process and that the duration of a resale transaction would be reduced from 16 weeks to eight. Ng had been assigned to be part of the team handling the project in April.

When Ms Tai asked whether she could report on the project, Ng told her the information was confidential and that she should not publish stories about it.

On July 16, Ms Tai texted Ng on WhatsApp to find out more about the project, asking questions including whether the online portal was solely for resale flats. Ng replied that while the overall project was meant for resale flats, the new portal would also cater to new and rental flats.

He further revealed that as part of the project, HDB would be creating a new resale portal which would streamline the transaction process by putting all eligibility checks on a single platform.

The following day, HDB was notified by the Singapore Institute of Surveyors and Valuers that that it had received an email with very specific questions from Ms Tai.

Ms Tai sent the HDB a similar email the day after.

Suspecting a leak of confidential information, HDB's group director of its estate administration and property group, Ms Tan Chew Ling, filed a police report on July 27.

Pushing for a maximum fine of S$2,000, Deputy Public Kumaresan Gohulabalan said Ng leaked the confidential information even though he knew Ms Tai was a reporter.

For wrongfully communicating confidential information under the relevant section of the OSA, Ng could have been fined up to S$2,000 and jailed for up to two years.

Ng's actions "inconvenienced" the HDB and even after it launched an internal investigation, Ng did not admit to his actions, said Mr Kumaresan.

The HDB had to push forward a number of projects because of the leaked information. It announced details of the resale portal – which will be launched next January – and streamlined process on Oct 19.

Ng's lawyer Kevin Cheng argued that a S$1,000 fine was sufficient punishment.

The information Ng leaked did not amount to state secrets, Mr Cheng said.

Ng was remorseful and had told Ms Tai that she should not disclose the information before it was officially released, he added.

Before the hearing, Ng was seen praying with his parents and friends outside the courtroom. After he was sentenced by District Judge Tan Jen Tse, some of them broke into smiles.

With tears streaming down her cheeks, Ng's mother was seen hugging Mr Cheng and mouthing the words "thank you".

Ng told reporters he had made an honest mistake and was remorseful. "I let my guard down and inadvertently gave information to someone I considered a personal friend," he said.

"I'm grateful the court recognises the particular circumstances under which the disclosure of information was made (by imposing) a fine without custodial sentence."

Ng said he hoped to be given a chance to learn from the episode and to continue to work for HDB. "I never intended for the information to be used as a story or cause my organisation any harm," he said.

A HDB spokesperson told TODAY it "takes a serious view of any unauthorised disclosure of information, and will take appropriate disciplinary action against the officer", but did not provide further details.

Ms Tai has been a given a stern warning by the police. Commenting on the case, The Straits Times' Editor Warren Fernandez said that "this is a difficult day for all of us in the media".

"The OSA is a wide, sweeping law, covering all manner of government information. Like it or not, our journalists have had to navigate this difficult terrain, and we give our full support to all of them in doing their jobs on behalf of the paper," said Mr Fernandez.

"In the same way, we stand by our colleague, Janice Tai, who was pursuing information for a story with the knowledge and backing of her supervisors. So, we take collective responsibility. As journalists, we understand the laws of the land, and strive to work within them."

He added: "We will, of course, take some time to review what happened in this case and draw lessons on how best to ensure we continue to play our role, while safeguarding both our journalists and sources. Thankfully, we have done this for years without any major issues."

This is only the second time in 25 years that the OSA has been used against civil servants who communicated information to the press.

In 1992, five individuals — including then-director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore Tharman Shanmugaratnam and The Business Times editor Patrick Daniel - were fined after the growth rate of Singapore's economy in the second quarter of that year was published in the newspaper before it was revealed officially. It could not be proven that Mr Shanmugaratnam, who is currently Deputy Prime Minister, communicated confidential data to economist Manu Bhaskaran at a meeting, and he was found guilty of negligence.