SINGAPORE – A Traffic Police officer was charged on Dec 20 over the illegal sharing of information about a police report.
Shivasuria Maniam Kesaval, 26, was also charged with intending to obtain information illegally on various Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) systems on multiple occasions. He faces one count for an offence under the Official Secrets Act, or OSA, and four for offences under the Computer Misuse Act.
In response to queries from The Straits Times, a police spokeswoman said the Singapore Police Force swiftly initiated investigations against Shivasuria, a sergeant, upon establishing his involvement in the alleged offences, and that he has been interdicted (suspended) since Aug 31, 2022.
“Officers of the Singapore Police Force are expected to uphold the law and maintain the highest standards of conduct and integrity. We deal severely with officers who break the law, including charging them in court,” the spokeswoman said. The police were unable to comment further as court proceedings are ongoing, she added.
According to court documents, Shivasuria, in his position as a Traffic Police investigation officer, obtained the “incident creation time” of a police report and illegally shared it with Brayden Ong Ying Shan on either July 14 or 15, 2022.
Shivasuria had also allegedly performed multiple searches on various MHA systems in order to illegally obtain data from them.
The entries included “Brayden” and “Brayden and licensed”. He also searched using what appeared to be a police report number as well as identity card, mobile phone and car plate numbers.
According to court records, Shivasuria indicated on Dec 20 that he intends to contest his charges.
He was released on $10,000 bail and his next court date is in January.
For each charge of causing a computer to perform any function for the purpose of securing unauthorised access to data held in any computer, a first-time offender can be fined up to $5,000, jailed for up to two years or both under the Computer Misuse Act.
A repeat offender can be fined up to $10,000, jailed for up to three years or both.
For obtaining information owing to his position as a person who holds office under the Government and communicating it to an unauthorised person, an offender can be fined up to $2,000 and jailed for up to two years in a district court under the OSA.
