4. OFFICIAL SECRETS ACT CASE
In 1992, while serving as director of the Economics Department of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), Mr Tharman was one of five people charged under the Official Secrets Act after the growth rate for Singapore’s economy in the second quarter of that year was published in the Business Times before it was revealed officially. The others included the newspaper's editor Patrick Daniel.
All five individuals were found guilty and fined. The courts could not prove that Mr Tharman actually communicated the confidential data to economist Manu Bhaskaran at a meeting, but he was found guilty of negligence and fined S$1,500.
Mr Tharman addressed his conviction while campaigning in the 2001 General Election.
Mr Tharman was quoted in the Business Times as saying: "No one concluded, including the court, that I had done anything deliberately. So my integrity was never challenged, never in doubt both during and after the case."
Responding to press queries separately, he added: "The facts are simply that I had a document with me at a meeting between MAS officials and the private sector. A private sector economist said he saw a figure from across the table. I did not give any official secret to anyone and the court records show this."
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong - the Deputy Prime Minister at the time - said the PAP does not "write people off because of one mistake", according to the Business Times report.