Brickbat: Friends in High Places

A court sentenced former Singapore Traffic Police officer Shivasuria Maniam Kesaval to 16 months in jail after he unlawfully accessed police computer systems and shared a woman’s personal information with his friend, her ex-boyfriend. The woman had reported Shivasuria’s friend, Brayden Ong Ying Shan, for driving without a license. Shivasuria looked up details about her report and passed them to Ong, who then told her he would “murder” whoever reported him and even bragged about having a “high-ranking” police friend. At trial, Shivasuria was convicted of misusing computer systems, Ong was convicted of criminal intimidation, and both were convicted of violating the Official Secrets Act. Ong fled the country after his conviction.