S’porean man, 29, an ex-traffic police officer, gets 16 months’ jail for informing friend that an ex-girlfriend reported him for driving without licence

A 29-year-old Singaporean man, who was a traffic police officer, was sentenced to 16 months’ jail after tipping off a 25-year-old man that his ex-girlfriend had informed authorities that he drove without a license.

Shivasuria Maniam Kesaval was sentenced on Jul. 2.

Kesaval had contested the charges, but was convicted of four charges under the Computer Misuse Act for performing unauthorised screenings and a charge under the Official Secrets Act (OSA).

The 25-year-old, Brayden Ong Ying Shan, had fled Singapore by boat on Jun. 2 after he was convicted of one charge under OSA and another charge for criminal intimidation, The Straits Times reported.

There is a warrant of arrest against him.

Friends

In court documents seen by Mothership, Ong and Kesaval have been friends since 2019.

Ong was aware that Kesaval was a traffic police officer.

On Jul. 12, 2022, Ong was apprehended by traffic police officers after the police received a tip-off from his ex-girlfriend that he was driving without a licence.

Ong’s vehicle was subsequently towed away to an impound lot.

He then contacted Kesaval to inform him of his apprehension.

Kesaval also told his colleague, who was in charge of investigating Ong, that he was friends with Ong.

Assessed

Between Jul. 14 and 26, 2022, Kesaval accessed police systems and found out about Ong’s case.

He also uncovered Ong's and his ex-girlfriend's private information, and the original report made by her against Ong.

Kesaval then tipped off Ong.

During that period, the pair also met repeatedly.

Threaten

On Jul. 15, 2022, from about 12:57am to 4:37am, he told his ex-girlfriend that he would “murder” whoever reported him to the police.

He also sent her a photo of Kesaval and told her that he “got a tp friend that is high ranking".

Ong further instructed her to provide the names of her family members, insinuating he would have Kesaval perform checks on them to see if they had reported him.

At about 3:41pm, while meeting Kesaval, Ong told his ex-girlfriend that he knew the incident report creation time.

On Jul. 21, 2022, at about 10:01pm, Ong told another friend that his ex-girlfriend had made the report against him, and according to a friend from the traffic police, he was caught in a planned ambush.

Ong also sent his friend WhatsApp screenshots of conversations between him and Kesaval.

As part of Kesaval's defence, the court heard that Ong and his ex-girlfriend were reportedly together at the time despite the threats, it was also reported.

Unauthorised

The prosecution sought 19 months’ jail for Kesaval, arguing that Kesaval was not authorised by his chain of command to access the information.

They also alleged that both Ong and Kesaval were “devoid of credibility” during cross-examination, citing inconsistencies in their claims.

The prosecution added that both of the accused persons "have demonstrated not one iota of remorse", "lied repeatedly" and "cast numerous aspersions on the police and the prosecution", alleging misconduct by "virtually every public servant".

A hearing to review Ong's warrant of arrest has been fixed for Jul. 14.