JOHOR BARU, Feb 13 — Police have opened an investigation paper over the spread of a confidential document on the Covid-19 infection through social media sites yesterday.

Kota Tinggi district police chief Supt Ahsmon Bajah said the investigation was being carried out under Section 203A of the Penal Code and Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1988.

"We have launched an investigation into the spread of a classified report meant for Royal Malaysian Police internal circulation only.

"The investigation will focus on identifying how the leakage could occur,” he said in a statement here today.

Earlier, a report that a policeman in Kota Tinggi near here was suspected to have been infected with Covid-19 after working in Singapore, made its rounds on social media platforms such as Facebook and WhatsApp.

Yesterday, the Johor Health Department denied issuing a statement on a Covid-19 infection case allegedly involving a police personnel in Bukit Besar, Kota Tinggi.

The department through its Facebook posting said it had lodged a police report on the matter.

Its director Dr Aman Rabu said sharing the patient’s personal information and name on social media sites, was a violation of the individual’s personal rights.

The department was not involved in the disclosure of the information and investigation into the case was ongoing, he said. — Bernama