S'porean hacker who made $25k worth of illegal purchases released from Thai prison, arrested here
A 34-year-old man who had allegedly hacked into multiple NTUC FairPrice and Zalora accounts to make fraudulent online purchases was deported from Thailand and arrested upon his arrival in Singapore on Aug 25.
The police said they received multiple reports between July and November 2022 about NTUC FairPrice and Zalora customer accounts being compromised.
The compromised accounts were used to make fraudulent purchases amounting to at least $25,000.
The Singaporean man had allegedly worked with at least six other individuals.
He was first charged in court on Oct 8, 2021, with a separate offence.
"However, he subsequently absconded while on court bail and failed to attend subsequent court hearings," police said.
On Sept 8 2022, the State Courts issued a warrant of arrest against him for failure to attend court.
The Singapore Police Force (SPF) said they worked with foreign law enforcement counterparts to trace the man's whereabouts.
They added: "He was subsequently arrested by Thai law enforcement authorities in Oct 2022, and thereafter incarcerated in Thailand for drug-related and immigration offences."
The man was released from prison on July 30 and detained at the immigration detention centre before being deported to Singapore on Aug 25, where he was arrested upon his arrival.
He will be charged in court Aug 26 for the offence of unauthorised access to computer material under Section 3(1) of the Computer Misuse Act 1993, which carries a jail term of up to two years and/or a fine not exceeding $5,000.
Commander of SPF's Cybercrime Command, Assistant Commissioner of Police (AC) Paul Tay, expressed his appreciation to the Royal Thai Police (RTP) for their assistance and said: "The SPF is grateful for the strong support and assistance provided by RTP in the arrest and subsequent deportation of the suspect to Singapore.
"Criminals can run but we will spare no effort to hunt them down and bring them to justice."
