Covid-19: Public servant and her husband charged over leak of government statement on school closures

SINGAPORE — A 38-year-old woman on Wednesday (April 21) became the second public servant within a week to be charged with leaking classified information in relation to the Covid-19 pandemic last year.

Noorain Jubli and her husband Khairul Annuar Zakaria, 39, were each charged on two counts under the Official Secrets Act (OSA).

Noorain worked as the personal assistant to the director-general of the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) at the time.

Court documents showed that she had access to his email inbox, which contained confidential emails on the management of Covid-19 in Singapore.

She had allegedly taken a photograph of a draft media statement on her computer screen on April 3 last year. 

It detailed the implementation of full home-based learning by schools and Institutes of Higher Learning, as well as the closure of preschools and student care centres.

The police later received a report that the statement — a joint one by the Ministry of Social and Family Development and the Ministry of Education — had been leaked to the public before it was officially released. 

Noorain then purportedly shared it with Khairul through WhatsApp, and he then shared it with his friends, the police said on Tuesday.

Court documents said that he allegedly sent the image to a WhatsApp chat group named “Geng Shaffri”, comprising 13 members.

Noorain is also accused of taking photos of a list of essential services that would continue operating during the circuit breaker period when movement and activities were restricted and sending them to her husband at his request.

Noorain faces two charges of wrongful communication of information. Khairul faces one charge of the same and another of soliciting wrongful communication of information.

The police said on Tuesday that 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 OSA”.

The couple told District Judge Marvin Bay that they intend to plead guilty. They are out on bail and will return to court on June 11.

If convicted, Noorain and Khairul could be jailed for up to two years and fined up to S$2,000 for each charge.

In response to TODAY’s queries, SFA said that Noorain was immediately suspended from her duties when the statutory board learnt of the police investigations. 

“SFA takes a very serious view of any wrongful communication of information by our staff… SFA has since reviewed and tightened information security protocols and processes. Our officers were also reminded to abide by SFA’s code of conduct as well as the Official Secrets Act.”

Last week, the deputy lead of a data management unit started by the Ministry of Health (MOH) in response to the Covid-19 pandemic was charged with leaking daily coronavirus case numbers 22 times between March and April last year.  

Zhao Zheng, a 36-year-old Singaporean, faces 24 charges.

Twenty-two charges relate to her allegedly sending the number of Covid-19 cases to a WeChat group comprising 49 other members, before MOH officially released the information to the public.