Six persons to be charged for offences in relation to illegal cyber activities

Five men, Chinese nationals, aged between 32 and 42, and one 34-year-old Singaporean man, will be charged in court on 10 September 2024 for their suspected involvement in illegal cyber activities committed in Singapore.

On 9 September 2024, about 160 officers from the Singapore Police Force’s Criminal Investigation Department, Police Intelligence Department, Special Operations Command and the Internal Security Department conducted simultaneous raids at multiple residential locations island-wide. The operation led to the arrest of the six men who are believed to be linked to a global syndicate which conducts malicious cyber activities. Electronic devices and cash were seized during the operation. The case facts are as follows:

1. A 42-year-old male Chinese national was arrested at his residence at a condominium along Bidadari Park Drive. He was found in possession of a laptop that contained credentials to access internet servers used by known hacker groups. Five laptops, six mobile phones, cash of more than S$24,000 and cryptocurrency worth approximately USD$850,000 were seized from him.
   

2. Three Chinese nationals were arrested at their residence at a landed residential property along Mount Sinai Avenue:
   
   i. A 38-year-old man was found in possession of laptops containing data obtained without authorisation, such as personal information of persons outside Singapore (e.g. personally identifiable information relating to foreign internet service providers). Two laptops, three mobile phones, cash of more than S$52,000 and other foreign currency were seized from him;
   
   ii. A 35-year-old man was found in possession of a laptop containing various computer hacking tools and was suspected to have made preparations to conduct cyber-attacks (such as by exploiting vulnerabilities in internet servers). Two laptops, four mobile phones, cash of more than S$2,600 and other foreign currency were seized from him; and
   
   iii. A 32-year-old man was found in possession of a laptop containing various specialised software to control malware (such as PlugX). Three laptops and four mobile phones were seized from him.
   

3. A 38-year-old male Chinese national was arrested at his residence at a condominium along Cairnhill Road. He was suspected of offering to purchase personally identifiable information that was believed to have been obtained through illegal means. The Police seized one laptop, nine mobile phones and cash of S$465,000 from him.
   

4. A 34-year-old male Singaporean was arrested at his residence at a HDB block along Hougang Avenue for suspicion of abetting the offences in relation to the above-mentioned illegal cyber activities.

The five Chinese nationals will be charged in court on 10 September 2024 with offences under the Computer Misuse Act 1993. The offence of unauthorised access to computer material under the Computer Misuse Act 1993 carries a fine of up to $5,000, an imprisonment term of up to 2 years, or both. The offence of retaining or offering to supply personal information which is obtained without authorisation; and the offence of retaining software which could be used to commit other offences; are both punishable with a fine of up to $10,000, or an imprisonment term of up to three years, or both, under Section 9(5) and Section 10(3) of the Computer Misuse Act 1993 respectively.

The Singaporean man will be charged in court on 10 September 2024 with the offence of abetting the securing of unauthorised access to websites under Section 3(1) read with Section 12 of the Computer Misuse Act 1993. The offence of abetting the securing of unauthorised access to websites under Section 3(1) read with Section 12 of the Computer Misuse Act 1993 is punishable with a fine of up to $5,000, or imprisonment term of up to two years, or both, for a first-time offender.

All six men will be remanded for further investigations as the Police continue to investigate into their local network of contacts, and the global syndicate to which they are linked.

This is a significant operation as the individuals are suspected to be carrying out global malicious cyber operations from Singapore. We have zero tolerance of the use of Singapore to conduct criminal activities, including illegal cyber activities. We will deal severely with perpetrators.

Electronic devices and cash seized during the operation on 9 September 2024