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SINGAPORE – A 37-year-old public servant has been arrested for allegedly leaking a police surveillance message identifying the suspect in the Tampines stabbing incident, which took place last Wednesday (February 10).
Police said Monday the man is suspected of unlawfully communicating information under the Official Secrets Act (OSA).
The man, who is from another government agency, had received the surveillance message when the police sent it to various law enforcement agencies around 7:30 a.m. last Wednesday, after they had established the identity of the suspect in the stabbing.
The surveillance message included the police report number, suspect’s name, photograph, date of birth, and nationality.
It also included an image taken by a security camera that showed a person believed to be the suspect.
The public servant would have taken a photograph of the surveillance message and shared it via WhatsApp with his friend, a 60-year-old man, who was not authorized to receive the classified information.
The friend then spread the message to other unauthorized recipients, leading to wider circulation.
Police said their investigations are ongoing.
“The government takes a serious view of any illicit communication of confidential information and will deal firmly with anyone who does so,” police said.
The offense of unlawful communication of information under the OSA carries a fine of up to $ 2,000 and a prison sentence of up to two years.
Unauthorized recipients who continue to circulate the confidential information received may be equally liable under the OSA.
Ms. Iris Ting Su Yin, 42, was found on an empty terrace in Tampines last Wednesday covered in blood with wounds to her neck.
The mother of three died the same day, shortly after being transferred unconscious to the hospital.
Hours after she was found, the man she had married in June 2000 was found at the foot of a block in Punggol.
Ng Chee Kok, 45, who is believed to have assaulted Ms. Ting, also died after being taken to hospital.
The couple’s marriage is understood to have turned sour in recent years, with Ms Ting moving out of their marital home in Punggol.
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