Woman who leaked daily number of Covid-19 cases last year fined $10,000

SINGAPORE - On various occasions between March and April last year, a 36-year-old woman leaked the number of daily Covid-19 cases before the Ministry of Health (MOH) had officially announced them.

Tang Lin, 36, was fined $10,000 on Friday (Aug 20).

The Singaporean pleaded guilty to five charges of wrongful communication, which is an offence under the Official Secrets Act (OSA).

Four of the charges involved leaking to her colleagues the number of daily Covid-19 cases, which she had got from her acquaintance Zhao Zheng, 36.

The court heard that Zhao was the deputy lead of MOH's data management unit at that time. She had shared the information in a WeChat group, of which Tang was a member.

The other charge involved soliciting confidential information about a Covid-19 patient from Zhao.

When sentencing Tang on Friday, Principal District Judge Toh Han Li took into consideration five other charges for similar offences under the OSA.

The case for Zhao, who faces 24 charges under the Act, is still pending.

The offence of wrongful communication of information under the OSA carries a fine of up to $2,000 and a jail term of up to two years.

This article was first published in The Straits Times.