The police were forced to issue an apology to people whose privacy was compromised earlier this year after a similar lapse in security.

A police spokesperson said it would not comment before a thorough investigation is carried out.

The information leaked onto the Internet included detailed records of several dozen cases complete with the names and details of the suspects. But more damaging is the exposure of more than 1,600 police officers' personal files including information such as name, serial number, rank and mobile phone number.

Wen Wei Po