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SINGAPORE: Three Singaporean men were charged with committing corruption and computer misuse crimes involving Singtel and Starhub subscriber information, the Corrupt Practices Investigation Office (CPIB) said on Wednesday (December 16).
Two of the men, Foo Cheek Ann Kelvin and Zhang Jiazheng, allegedly helped a 37-year-old man named Lee Cheng Yan retrieve confidential customer data, such as billing addresses, from Singtel and Starhub without authorization.
The third man, Lim Zong Xian Philbert, reportedly gave Lee S $ 1,000 for obtaining some of the confidential details.
CUSTOMER DATA SINGTEL, STARHUB ACCESS WITHOUT AUTHORITY
Foo, 32, was working as a retail consultant at Singtel’s subsidiary Telecom Equipment at the time of the crime.
He was charged with one count of corruptly accepting S $ 180 from Lee in 2016, in exchange for recovering sensitive Singtel customer data.
Foo was also charged with 15 counts of knowingly using a computer at his workplace to access Singtel’s subscriber data without authorization between 2014 and 2017. The data included the address of Lee’s ex-girlfriend.
Zhang, 38, was working as a customer service consultant at Starhub at the time of the crime.
He was charged with nine counts of knowingly using a computer at his workplace to access Starhub subscriber data without authorization between 2015 and 2017.
Lim, 33, was charged with three counts of corruptly giving Lee a total of S $ 1,000 in 2017, as an incentive to obtain customer details from the two telcos.
Lee was charged in 2018 with one count of corruptly giving S $ 180 to Foo for Singtel’s customer details, as well as three counts of corruptly receiving S $ 1,000 from Lim for Starhub and Singtel’s customer details.
Lee has also been charged with 25 counts of complicity in instigating Foo and Zhang to knowingly use a computer at their workplaces to secure unauthorized access to data in Singtel and Starhub systems.
Lee’s case is still before the court, CPIB said.
“Singapore takes a strict zero-tolerance approach to corruption,” said CPIB.
“Anyone convicted of a corruption offense can be fined up to S $ 100,000 or imprisoned for up to 5 years or both.”
Zhang and Foo will plead guilty next month, while Lim will return to court next month.
