Traffic police officer jailed for illegally accessing MHA systems
A suspended traffic police officer has been sentenced to 16 months’ jail after illegally accessing Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) systems.
He had done so to help a friend identify who had reported him for driving without a licence.
The unauthorised searches ultimately revealed that the informant was the friend’s ex-girlfriend. She would later receive death threats after her identity was uncovered.
On Thursday (2 July), 29-year-old Singaporean Shivasuria Maniam Kesaval was convicted and sentenced over four charges under the Computer Misuse Act and one charge under the Official Secrets Act (OSA).
Officer searched confidential records after friend was arrested
Shivasuria had been friends with 25-year-old Singaporean Brayden Ong Ying Shan since 2019, CNA reported.
On 12 July 2022, Ong was caught in a traffic police ambush for driving without a valid licence, and his vehicle was impounded.
After his arrest, Ong contacted Shivasuria, who disclosed to a colleague that the driver was his friend.
Shivasuria then accessed MHA’s internal systems without authorisation and searched records relating to Ong’s case.
The searches uncovered personal information, including an original police report filed by Ong’s ex-girlfriend on 2 July 2022, reporting him for driving without a valid licence.
Friend allegedly threatened to kill ex-girlfriend
After learning about the report, Ong met his ex-girlfriend and revealed that he knew details about the police case, including the incident creation time.
According to court proceedings, he told her he would “murder whoever reported him to the police”.
Ong also sent her a photograph of Shivasuria, claiming, “I got a TP friend that is high ranking”.
He then instructed her to provide the names of her family members, implying that Shivasuria could conduct checks on them to identify the informant if necessary, CNA said.
Source: Africa images on Canva, for illustration purposes only
Ong later sent another friend a screenshot of his WhatsApp conversation with Shivasuria, saying his “recent ex-girlfriend” had made the report.
Officer claimed searches were authorised
Police investigations later uncovered Shivasuria’s unauthorised access to the MHA systems.
He was subsequently suspended.
During the trial, both men denied the offences.
Shivasuria claimed his superior had authorised the searches because he was supposedly helping with investigations involving Ong.
Ong argued he never intended to threaten his ex-girlfriend because he did not know for certain who had reported him.
He also claimed she could not have been frightened because they continued their relationship afterwards.
District Judge Lim Tse Haw rejected both men’s accounts, finding they were “not credible witnesses” who “could not even get their stories straight”.
The judge noted that Ong could simply have confronted his ex-girlfriend based on the timing of his arrest.
Instead, he enlisted Shivasuria to confirm his suspicions using confidential police information.
Friend absconded after conviction
The prosecution had sought at least 19 months’ jail for Shivasuria.
They argued that both men had shown “not one iota of remorse” and repeatedly lied during the trial.
The men had also made allegations against police officers and prosecutors.
According to the Straits Times (ST), Shivasuria was not represented by a lawyer.
After submitting his written mitigation earlier, he told the judge that he had nothing else to add.
Ong has since absconded after being convicted of multiple offences, including criminal intimidation.
A warrant for his arrest was issued in June, and the court has scheduled a hearing on 14 July to review the warrant.
For unlawfully disclosing official information under the Official Secrets Act, Shivasuria could have been jailed for up to two years and fined up to S$2,000.
Each offence of unauthorised access to computer data under the Computer Misuse Act carries a maximum penalty of two years’ imprisonment, a fine of up to S$5,000, or both.
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Featured image adapted from Shivasuria SO Maniam Kesaval on LinkedIn and MS News.
