Explained: Singapore’s Official Secrets Act

If there is one “secret” that you should uncover for yourself, then that would be Singapore’s Official Secrets Act (OSA). 

Enacted to prevent the disclosure of official documents and information, the 19 sections in the OSA describe what such disclosure involves and what can happen if you commit an offence under the OSA.

Key Offences under the Official Secrets Act

Some key offences under the OSA are:

• Wrongful communication of confidential material
• Receiving confidential material
• Spying

Wrongful communication of confidential information

Wrongful communication by people working for the Singapore Government

Under section 5(1)(e)(i) of the OSA, persons who have obtained confidential information while working for the Singapore Government can only communicate such information to authorised persons. They will be guilty of an offence if they communicate the information to persons whom they are not authorised to do so.

Such confidential information can be in the form of photographs, documents, notes and drawings. Acts such as passing, using and retaining of the communication material can also constitute “communication” for the purposes of this offence.

For the offence to be established, the accused must have intended to communicate the confidential information, while knowing that the information is secret and confidential and that he has no authority to communicate it.

The court will look at the surrounding circumstances to establish whether it is reasonable to believe that the information is secret, official information. These circumstances can include the accused’s position in the Government and the nature of the information.

Additionally, if a similar piece of information had been made to the public, but not the particular one that was allegedly wrongfully communicated, this could show that the communicated information is confidential.

Persons convicted of the offence of wrongfully communicating confidential information can be fined up to $2,000 and/or jailed for up to 2 years.

In 2022, a National Library Board deputy director shared classified information about the resumption of activities under the second phase of Singapore’s economic reopening during the Covid-19 pandemic. The information was shared in a WhatsApp group chat which had 19 members who were part of the Singapore Polytechnic Graduate Guild’s executive committee. The group members then forwarded the information to others before it was officially released, and the details went viral among the public. He pleaded guilty to one charge of wrongful communication of information and was sentenced to four weeks’ jail.

Wrongful communication by people not working for the Singapore Government

It is also possible for people who are not working for the Singapore Government to be found in breach of section 5(1)(d)(i) of the OSA if they communicate confidential information, that was obtained from a government source, with persons they were not authorised to communicate such information with. The same penalty of up to a $2,000 fine and/or up to 2 years’ jail will apply.

For example, if someone shares information that was leaked online, while knowing or having reason to believe that such information was from a government source, that person can be found guilty of an offence under this section.

In 2021, a 38-year-old woman and a 39-year-old man were charged for offences of wrongful communication of information under the Official Secrets Act. The information concerned a draft joint media statement by the Ministry of Social and Family Development and the Ministry of Education to announce details of the implementation of full home-based learning by schools and Institutes of Higher Learning, as well as the closure of pre-schools and student care centres at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, which had been leaked to the public before it was officially released.

The woman, who was a public servant and therefore an authorised recipient of the media statement, had allegedly taken a photo of the media statement on her computer screen and shared it image with her husband via WhatsApp. Her husband, who was not an authorised recipient of the media statement, allegedly shared the image with his friends and made it publicly available before it was officially released. He was nevertheless charged for wrongfully communicating the information.

Receiving confidential information is also an offence

Quite apart from the person communicating the confidential information, persons who receive such confidential information will also be guilty of an offence under section 5(2) of the OSA if they know or have reason to believe that the information is secret and confidential. This is unless the recipient is able to prove that the communication of the information to him was “contrary to his desire”.

Persons who are found guilty of receiving confidential information can be fined up to $2,000 and/or imprisoned for up to 2 years.

In September 2024, a 46-year-old project manager from a company that had dealings with the Defence Science and Technology Agency (DSTA) was handed four charges for receiving information that was communicated to him in contravention of the OSA. He had received information regarding three DSTA projects from a programme manager from DSTA – the project manager, in turn, was also slapped with charges for wrongfully communicating information that he had access to owing to his position.

Spying

A person caught spying could be found guilty under section 3 of the OSA.

“Spying” includes acts such as:

• Approaching, inspecting or entering a “prohibited place”. Under section 2(1) of the OSA, most “prohibited places” are related to Singapore’s armed forces. They could be things (e.g. telephones, ships) or locations (e.g. camps, offices) belonging to or occupied by Singapore’s armed forces, or a place used for storage of war munitions. Any areas declared and published in the Gazette as being, or specified in any notice under any law to be, “prohibited places” under section 2(1) of the OSA, are also included.
• Making photographs, drawings, plans, or notes that might be, or are intended to be, useful to a foreign Power or enemy.
• Obtaining, collecting, recording, or communicating confidential information that might be, or is intended to be, useful to a foreign Power or enemy.

The accused person must have also carried out these acts with a purpose prejudicial to Singapore’s safety and interests in order to be guilty of spying.

Persons found guilty of spying can be fined up to $20,000 and jailed up to 14 years.

Requirement to Give Information about Any Official Secrets Act Offence

Persons are legally obliged to provide information relating to offences under the OSA to the authorities, such as a police officer above the rank of sergeant or any armed forces officer on duty, on demand.

If a person is required to attend any meetings for the purpose of providing such information, he will have any reasonable expenses incurred reimbursed.

Persons who fail to give such information will be guilty of an offence under section 10 of the OSA.

What Happens if a Person is Suspected of Breaching the Official Secrets Act?

As long as it can be reasonably suspected that a person has committed any offence under the OSA, that person may be arrested without a warrant.

The court can then issue a search warrant to authorise the authorities to enter certain premises – using force if necessary – to seize any evidence which may prove that an offence under the OSA has been or is about to be committed.

The accused can only be prosecuted by or with the Public Prosecutor’s consent. Before such consent has been obtained, the accused cannot plead and the regular criminal trial procedure will not apply.

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Time and again, it has been stressed that the Government will take action to establish the principle that confidential information should not be leaked.

While some have criticised the OSA for its wide-ranging, “catch-all” nature, such a harsh stance against OSA offences is tied to the need to safeguard national security by ensuring that confidential information does not fall into the wrong hands.