Former SIA Pilot Convicted Of Breach In OSA After Sharing A Photo Of A Dead Maid

A general rule of thumb: Don’t share images that might be disrespectful to others.

Unfortunately, a former Singapore Airlines (SIA) pilot, Fazli, didn’t get the memo.

According to TODAYonline, the former SIA pilot was found guilty on 26 August 2019 for forwarding a picture of a dead maid that he had received from his girlfriend.

At the time, his girlfriend was a paramedic.

Received Photo From Paramedic Girlfriend

His girlfriend had worked for a private ambulance operator Unistrong Technology, which does outsourced work for the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF).

She was present at the scene of the death, where the maid had hung herself from a fan. After receiving the photo of the dead maid on a group chat, she forwarded it to her boyfriend, Fazli.

Fazli then sent the photo to a chat group containing 31 of his friends.

Unsurprisingly, social media has a way of circulating things fast and this particular photo was no exception.

The picture quickly got into the hands of other maids in Singapore and circulated on social media after one of the maids post it on her Facebook account.

Two Offences Under Officials Secrets Act (OSA)

The former SIA pilot had claimed trial to two offences under the OSA. The main issue at the trial was whether he knew that he had obtained the photos in contravention of the OSA.

Though Fazli claims ignorance and said he shared the photos with no malicious intent and does not deny that he received the photos from his girlfriend, the judge remains unconvinced.

This is especially since Fazli has a National Service background as a section commander in SCDF’s Special Rescue Platoon.

Translated: He should’ve known better than to forward the images.

His girlfriend was fined S$3,000 in August last year, while Fazli will return to court on 2 September for sentencing. Each charge under the OSA carries a sentence of up to 2 years in jail and a maximum fine of S$2,000.

PSA: It is unethical to forward and share photos of the deceased – they might visit you while you sleep at night.