Coronavirus: Singapore civil servant jailed for leaking sensitive Covid-19 information on WhatsApp
- Chua Wee Lin, who was a deputy director at the National Library Board at the time, told a WhatsApp group about the planned relaxation of measures
- He was handed a four-week jail sentence after pleading guilty to wrongful communication of information under the Official Secrets Act
A Singaporean court handed a civil servant a four-week jail sentence on Tuesday for leaking information about the relaxation of coronavirus restrictions.
Such leaks rarely happen in the city state, where the government keeps a tight hold on sensitive information, and the civil service is highly regarded.
The case is among a few instances during the pandemic where civil servants leaked information related to Covid-19 to their family or acquaintances before it was made public.
Chua Wee Lin, a 52-year-old who was a deputy director at the National Library Board at the time, leaked information about the planned relaxation of measures to 18 others in a WhatsApp group four days before the government announced the plans in June 2020.
After attending a meeting where the information was shared, he sent messages detailing the dates that country clubs, cinemas and restaurants would be allowed to reopen after Singapore’s partial lockdown, according to court documents.