Many of us are not aware of this but posting pictures of police reports on social media is actually an offence.
Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Abdul Hamid Bador has said that revealing police reports is an offence under the Official Secrets Act 1972 as the information inside is confidential and classified.
This goes for police officers and staff, not excluding the victims themselves as well.
Police officers and staff have been warned to not reveal or share investigation reports to the public or to post them on social media.
The IGP told Bernama,
“Many police reports in various cases have been shared on social media and have gone viral. If I find police officers or staff doing that, I will immediately take action under the Official Secrets Act 1972.”
“For instance, if the victim lodged a police report of a sexual crime and the victim narrates what happened, the person on duty who takes down the report reveals it on Whatsapp and the information reaches the media, this is an irresponsible act.”
In addition to that, he mentioned that he will not hesitate to take disciplinary actions against police officers and staff which may include suspension.
He mentioned that recently, there was a police report that has gone viral on social media and when the police officer in charge was confronted, they said that the victim was the one who leaked the report. Even if the victim was the one who leaked the report, it is still considered an offence.
Other than police reports, we also think that people should be more careful about what they post on social media in general.
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