SINGAPORE: A 50-year-old public servant was arrested on Saturday (Jun 13) under the Official Secrets Act (OSA) for allegedly sharing classified information on post-"circuit breaker" plans that he was an authorised recipient of.
The police said on Sunday they had received a report on Friday that information about Phase 2 of the resumption of activities was circulating via WhatsApp messages among members of the public.
AdvertisementAdvertisement"Preliminary investigations revealed that the man, who is a public servant and an authorised recipient of classified information on post-circuit breaker plans, had allegedly shared the information via WhatsApp on Jun 11, 2020, with members of a private WhatsApp chat group who were not authorised to receive the classified information," the police said in a news release.
"The information was subsequently further disseminated from this chat group, resulting in wider circulation of the message."
Investigations are ongoing, the police added.
Anyone found guilty of wrongful communication of information could be fined up to S$2,000 and imprisoned for up to two years.
AdvertisementAdvertisement"Unauthorised recipients should also not further circulate the confidential information received, as they may be similarly liable under the Official Secrets Act," the police said.
"The Government takes a serious view of any wrongful communication of confidential information and will deal firmly with anyone who does so," they added.
Let's block ads! (Why?)
More...