Two Malaysian businessmen were given 14-week prison sentences each for buying 9,300 people’s personal data that was allegedly taken from gambling websites in collusion with a suspected Chinese cybercriminal on Wednesday, October 24.
Seow Gim Shen, 42, of Penang, and Kong Chien Hoi, 39, of Selangor, had each entered a guilty plea to one count of conspiring with Sun Jiao, a Chinese national, to get the personal data of 9,369 unidentified people.
Defence attorneys requested a S$10,000 fine for each of the men, while the prosecution had demanded six months in prison.
District Judge Christopher Goh acknowledged that only roughly one-third of the personal details were “in some way active” but acknowledged the volume of personal information involved in the sentencing.
He added that the data was purchased and that more discussions to acquire more data had been attempted but failed because Sun was detained.
He claimed that he could not regard this as merely a business transaction and that the motivation for acquiring the information—for internet remote gambling—was an aggravating aspect.
Since Sun was residing in Singapore at the time he gave the data to Seow and Kong, who were not, he also took into account the international nature of the offence.
But in the grand scheme of things, he noted, this example was “less egregious” than if it had involved credit card information, Singpass, or NRIC.
Thai nationals’ names and phone numbers were among the data gathered.
Kong and Seow were permitted to postpone their jail sentences while they think about filing an appeal.
THE CASE
At a Cambodian casino in 2019, a Chinese national introduced Seow to Sun, 42.
He was informed that Sun specialized in personal data databases and may sell them to those who run online gambling businesses.
Then, since he knew Kong had a client involved in internet gambling, Seow recommended Sun to his friend Kong.
The two Malaysian men were unaware of Sun’s business ventures or the fact that he was staying in Singapore.
With alleged victims from nations including India and Korea, Sun is supposedly a member of a global cybercrime organization headquartered in Singapore and controlled by Chinese criminals out of a leased home in Mount Sinai.
Later, Sun, Kong, and Seow created a chat room called “Malaysian Data” so that Sun and Kong could discuss selling the unlawfully acquired personal data.
Sun claimed to have the personal data of more than a million Thais after Kong requested to purchase it.
Kong requested a sample with the intention of using the information for a gambling enterprise he was helping to run online.
On July 24, Sun shared a file with Kong and Seow via WhatsApp that included the names and phone numbers of over 9,000 individuals.
Negotiations for the sale of the entire database included the file, which was a sample taken from a bigger database.
Kong had the data tested by a colleague. According to a thorough analysis, 34% of the 2,000 numbers might be reached. Thirty-two percent of the SMS blasts that were sent to the 9,369 phones were delivered.
Kong then emailed Sun the report’s findings via the group conversation, where they worked out a fee that contained further information. Kong urged Sun to let him know how many phone numbers he could give him, adding that he also needed the personal information of persons from Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam.
Seow questioned Sun on September 7th if he had any information about Vietnamese citizens. 6,800 people’s personal details, including Vietnamese names, email addresses, phone numbers, and bank account numbers, were included in a file that Sun transmitted.
Kong paid Sun 20,000 USD Tether (about S$26,200) on September 13th to purchase the entire database of more than a million individuals.
However, because Sun had been detained, the material was not sent to the two Malaysians.
Six males thought to be connected to the syndicate of “global malicious cyber operators” were arrested by 160 members of the Criminal Investigation Department during simultaneous searches throughout the island on September 9, the court heard.
At a condominium on Bidadari Park Drive, Sun was taken into custody. Computer programs that could be used in cyberattacks were on his laptop.
Kong and Seow were members of the Malaysia Data WhatsApp discussion group, which was discovered by police forensic examinations.
The two Malaysians arrived in Singapore for the Grand Prix on September 21 and were detained two days later when they tried to depart.
Sun’s case is still underway, and he is on remand.
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