Two Former Prison Officers and One Inmate Charged for Various Alleged Offences

On 1 November 2021, two former prison officers and one inmate will be charged in Court for alleged respective offences under the Official Secrets Act, Penal Code and Computer Misuse Act. They are:

a) Muhammad Zul Helmy Bin Abdul Latip (“Helmy”) (33-year-old male Singapore Citizen), a Singapore Prison Service (“SPS”) officer at the material time;

b) Muhammad Fattahullah Bin Mohd Nordin (“Fattahullah”) (37-year-old male Singapore Citizen), a SPS officer at the material time; and

c) Abdul Karim Bin Mohamed Kuppai Khan (“Karim”) (35-year-old male Singapore Citizen), an inmate at Tanah Merah Prison at the material time.

2. Sometime in October 2020, Karim was alleged to have received information on other inmates at Tanah Merah Prison from Helmy on four occasions. These included information on other inmates’ age, residential address, criminal charges and the contact details of their next-of-kin. Karim was also alleged to have received information on the locations of several other inmates at Tanah Merah Prison from Fattahullah on six occasions in 2020. In the same month, Karim was alleged to have also threatened another inmate of Tanah Merah Prison with injury to the inmate’s family. For his actions, Karim faces six charges for offences under Section 5(2) and punishable under Section 17(2) of the Official Secrets Act, of which one charge is amalgamated, and an additional charge for criminal intimidation which is an offence punishable under Section 506 of the Penal Code.

3. As Helmy and Fattahullah were not authorised to communicate the said information to Karim, this information was alleged to have been communicated in contravention of the Official Secrets Act. For their actions:

a) Helmy faces four charges for offences under Section 5(1)(e)(i) and punishable under Section 17(2) of the Official Secrets Act; and

b) Fattahullah faces two charges for offences under Section 5(1)(e)(i) and punishable under Section 17(2) of the Official Secrets Act, of which one charge is amalgamated. Fattahullah also faces an additional charge for an offence punishable under Section 3(1) of the Computer Misuse Act for allegedly accessing data relating to an inmate’s location at Tanah Merah Prison without authorisation on 11 October 2020.

4. The case was referred to the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) by the SPS.

5. Singapore adopts a strict zero-tolerance approach towards corruption and other criminal activities. CPIB will not hesitate to take firm action against offenders, including public officers who abuse their position of authority and tarnish the image of the Public Service. Any person who is convicted of an offence under the Official Secrets Act can be fined or sentenced to imprisonment of up to two years or both. Any person who is convicted of an offence of criminal intimidation can be fined or sentenced to imprisonment of up to two years or both. Any person who is convicted of an offence under the Computer Misuse Act can be fined or sentenced to imprisonment of up to two years or both.

6 . The CPIB looks into all corruption complaints and reports, including anonymous ones, and can be reached via the following channels:

a) Lodge an e-Complaint;
b) Email us at report@cpib.gov.sg;
c) Call the Duty Officer at 1800-376-0000; or
d) Write to us at the CPIB Headquarters @ 2 Lengkok Bahru, S159047.

6. Where possible, the report should include the following information:

a) Where, when and how the alleged corrupt act happened?
b) Who was involved and what were their roles?
c) What was the bribe given and the favour shown?

CORRUPT PRACTICES INVESTIGATION BUREAU