According to the Ministry of Health‘s weekly infectious disease update, the Zika virus has resurfaced in Singapore.

This is the first reported case since March 2020, and the case was reported on the 34th week of this year, between 21 to 27 August, last month.

This comes in the wake of rising dengue fever cases in Singapore.

The National Environment Agency (NEA) also reported on the case, while the reports for the other weeks were zero – it is the only case for this year, so far.

According to Channel NewsAsia, the reported Zika case is the first one in Singapore in more than 2 years, with the last case being reported in March 2020.

NEA added that there are no active Zika clusters in Singapore, at the moment.

The return of Zika coincides with Singapore’s rising dengue cases, with 666 dengue cases being reported in the same week as the reported Zika case.

The total number of dengue cases for this year so far now stands at 25,591, with about 404 cases being confirmed last week, from 28 August to 1 September.

A 32-year-old woman, Camie Low Jia Mei (“Camie”), was charged on 1 September 2022 with four counts of unauthorised access to computer material under Section 3(1) of the Computer Misuse Act.

Officers from the Commercial Affairs Department conducted investigations after a police report was made by Standard Chartered Bank (Singapore) Limited on 15 January 2021 alleging that Camie had made unauthorised access to its system to retrieve confidential customer data belonging to another staff.

Investigations revealed that between 2 June 2020 and 11 November 2020, while employed as a relationship manager at the bank, the accused had, on 10 separate occasions, used the computers of other bank staff to access without authority the personal information and transactional history of another staff at the bank.

The offence of unauthorised access to computer material under Section 3(1) of the Computer Misuse Act carries a fine of up to $5,000, or imprisonment for a term of up to two years, or both, for first-time offenders; and a fine of up to $10,000, or imprisonment not exceeding three years, or both, for subsequent convictions.

PUBLIC AFFAIRS DEPARTMENT
SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE
01 September 2022 @ 7:45 PM

Three men, aged 19, 22 and 33, will be charged in court on 2 September 2022 for their alleged involvement in offences connected to money laundering activities.

In the first case, the 19-year-old man allegedly made a deal with an unknown person over Telegram to open bank accounts and hand over control of these accounts to the unknown person in return for money.   The man allegedly cheated banks into opening two bank accounts, and subsequently handed over the internet-banking login username, password and One-Time-Password (“OTP”) of both bank accounts to the unknown person.  The man will be charged with cheating and abetting unknown persons to gaining unauthorised access to banks’ computer systems.

In the second case, the 22-year-old man allegedly responded to a Facebook post in November 2021 which offered him fast cash if he agreed to rent out his bank account. He was contacted by an unknown person who offered him RM1,600 a month in return for his bank account. Subsequently, the man allegedly provided the Internet-banking login username, password and OTP of his bank account to the unknown person.  The man will be charged with abetting unknown persons to gaining unauthorised access to the bank’s computer system.

In the third case, the 33-year-old man allegedly responded to a post from a website which offered him fast cash to sell his bank account.  He contacted an unknown person who offered him S$900 in return for his bank account and prepaid SIM card. Subsequently, the man allegedly provided the ATM card with PIN, Internet-banking login username, password and OTP of his bank account and prepaid SIM card to the unknown person. The man will be charged with assisting another to control benefits of criminal conduct.

These compromised bank accounts were later employed to launder proceeds of crime derived from various scams. At least eight persons became victims in these scams, and a total of at least $370,000 was laundered and lost through these bank accounts.

The offence of cheating under Section 417 of the Penal Code 1871 carries an imprisonment term of up to three years, or with fine, or both.

 The offence of unauthorised access to computer material under Section 3(1) of the Computer Misuse Act 1993 carries an imprisonment term of up to two years, a fine of up to $5,000, or both. For repeat offenders, the offence carries an imprisonment term of up to three years, a fined of up to $10,000, or both.

The offence of assisting another to control benefits of criminal conduct under Section 44(1)(a) of the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act 1992 carries an imprisonment term of up to 10 years, a fine of up to S$500,000, or both.

The Police take a serious stance against any person who may be involved in scams, and perpetrators will be dealt with in accordance with the law. To avoid being an accomplice in these crimes, members of the public should always reject seemingly attractive money-making opportunities promising fast and easy pay-outs for the use of their bank accounts, or for allowing their personal accounts to be used to receive and transfer money for others. Remember that you will be held accountable if these are linked to crimes.

For more information on scams, members of the public can visit www.scamalert.sg or call the Anti-Scam Hotline at 1800-722-6688. Anyone with information on such scams may call the Police Hotline at 1800-255-0000 or submit information online at www.police.gov.sg/iwitness. All information will be kept strictly confidential.

PUBLIC AFFAIRS DEPARTMENT
SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE
01 September 2022 @ 11:30 PM

A 19-year-old man, Chester Tan Ting Hao (“Chester”), was charged in court on 2 September 2022 for allegedly assisting another to retain benefits of criminal conduct.

 In October 2021, Chester had allegedly provided his Internet banking login ID, password, and One-Time-Password to an unknown person whom he met on Telegram, who offered to pay him $1,200 for using his bank account for seven days. Chester allegedly did so despite knowing that the bank account would be used for unlawful activities. A sum of $31,032, believed to be criminal proceeds related to scams, was transferred into the bank account.

The offence of assisting another to retain benefits of criminal conduct under Section 51(1)(a) of the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act 1992, is punishable with imprisonment of up to 10 years or a fine of up to $500,000, or both.

The Police will not hesitate to take action against anyone involved in arrangements to allow his or her bank accounts to be used for illegal purposes such as the laundering of criminal proceeds. To avoid being an accomplice to crimes, members of the public should always reject requests by others to use their bank account as they will be held accountable if the bank accounts are linked to crimes.

For more information on scams, members of the public can visit www.scamalert.sg or call the Anti-Scam Hotline at 1800-722-6688. Anyone with information on such scams may call the Police Hotline at 1800-255-0000 or submit information online at www.police.gov.sg/iwitness. All information will be kept strictly confidential.

PUBLIC AFFAIRS DEPARTMENT
SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE
01 September 2022 @ 6:20 PM

According to Shin Min Daily News, a 45-year-old food delivery rider was killed on 1 September, following an accident with a lorry at Buangkok Green, Hougang.

The Singapore Police Force also added that a 54-year-old driver of a lorry has been arrested for drink driving after the accident.

The police said they were alerted to the accident on Thursday at about 8pm, and the accident happened along Buangkok Green heading towards Sengkang East Road.

The Singapore Civil Defence Force said that the accident happened near 10 Buangkok View, and the food delivery rider was unconscious when he was conveyed to Tan Tock Seng Hospital.

He later succumbed to his injuries and subsequently passed away.

At the time of writing, police investigations into the accident are currently still ongoing.

The Police have arrested a 39-year-old woman for her suspected involvement in using a found credit card to make unauthorised transactions amounting to more than $1,100.

On 25 April 2022, the Police received a report from a victim who discovered that several unauthorised transactions had been made with her missing credit card.

Through investigations, officers from the Commercial Affairs Department established the identity of the woman and arrested her on 31 August 2022. Preliminary investigations revealed that the woman is believed to have found the victim’s credit card and subsequently used it to make 58 unauthorised transactions amounting to more than $1,100. A luggage bag, handbag, clothing and cosmetic products believed to have been purchased using the victim’s credit card, were seized as case exhibits.

The woman will be charged in court on 2 September 2022 with cheating under Section 420 of the Penal Code 1871. The offence carries an imprisonment term of up to 10 years, and a fine.

Unauthorised use of another person’s credit/debit card is a serious offence. The Police take a serious view against any person who commits fraud, and perpetrators will be dealt with in accordance with the law.

The Police would like to advise all credit/debit card holders to call their card-issuing banks immediately if their credit/debit cards are lost or stolen, and to adopt the following crime prevention measures:

            Do’s

• Keep your credit or debit cards safe with you at all times;
• Opt in for SMS notifications to be sent to your mobile phone for any charges incurred on your credit or debit cards; and
• Check your bank statements and alert the bank immediately should there be any discrepancies or unauthorised charges.

Don’t’s

• Give out your credit or debit card details to unknown persons;
• Reveal your One-Time Password to anyone; and
• Expose your credit or debit cards. Keep them in your purse or wallet until you are ready to make your purchases.

PUBLIC AFFAIRS DEPARTMENT
SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE
01 September 2022 @ 9:00 PM

A message has been circulating on Whatsapp and confirmed by the Housing and Development Board and the Building and Construction Authority of Singapore.

A landslide occurred at a construction site of a BTO HDB estate at Clementi, and BCA has since issued a Stop Work Order to the builders while engineers conduct investigations into the incident.

The circulating message on Whatsapp

A three-storey wall structure under construction at an HDB site in Clementi collapsed, cracking up the Ulu Pandan PCN and pushing a huge chunk of the riverbank along Sungei Ulu Pandan onto the waterway, forming a land bridge across to the track on the opposite PCN. Workers said the collapse happened around 1am.

HDB & BCA’s response

HDB’s statement

A landslide occurred this morning, 2 September 2022, at a BTO construction site in Clementi. The incident resulted in soil displacement into Sungei Ulu Pandan, causing damage to the Ulu Pandan park connector. A male passerby, who suffered some minor injuries and was attended to at site, is now resting at home. Agencies are in touch with him to render any further assistance that may be necessary. There is no other reported injury.

The affected areas of the park connector have been cordoned off for public safety. Members of the public are advised to stay away from the incident area.

HDB is working with NParks, PUB and BCA to conduct a thorough investigation of the incident, and carry out the necessary recovery actions.

As part of our safety process and precautionary measures, we have checked the nearby completed, but yet to be occupied, blocks and confirmed that they remain structurally sound.

BCA’s statement

BCA engineers have responded to a slope failure incident at Ulu Pandan park connector, near Clementi Avenue 6, this morning, and are currently on site to conduct a thorough investigation of the incident with the other relevant agencies.

BCA and HDB engineers, together with the Qualified Person (who is a Professional Engineer), have also assessed the buildings in the immediate vicinity and confirmed that they remain structurally sound.

As an immediate measure, the Builder and Professional Engineer are required to carry out slope stabilisation measures and put in place monitoring instruments to monitor the soil movement. Meanwhile, BCA has issued a Stop Work Order for the affected location. Works for the buildings, which are not affected, can proceed.

BCA will continue to monitor the situation closely.

Officers from the Commercial Affairs Department and the seven Police Land Divisions conducted a two-week operation between 19 August and 1 September 2022. A total of 201 men and 124 women, aged between 16 and 86, are assisting in investigations for their suspected involvement in scams as scammers or money mules. The suspects are believed to be involved in more than 697 cases of scams, comprising mainly fake friend call scams, Government and China Officials impersonation scams, e-commerce scams, phishing scams, investment scams, Internet love scams, and business email compromise scams, where victims reportedly lost over $9 million.

The suspects are being investigated for the alleged offences of cheating, money laundering or providing payment services without a licence. The offence of cheating under Section 420 of the Penal Code 1871 carries an imprisonment term of up to 10 years and a fine. The offence of money laundering under the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act 1992 carries an imprisonment term of up to 10 years, a fine of up to $500,000, or both. The offence of carrying on a business to provide any type of payment service in Singapore without a licence under Section 5 of the Payment Services Act 2019 carries a fine of up to $125,000, an imprisonment term of up to three years, or both.

The Police take a serious stance against any person who may be involved in scams, and perpetrators will be dealt with in accordance with the law. To avoid being an accomplice to crimes, members of the public should always reject requests by others to use your bank account or mobile lines as you will be held accountable if these are linked to crimes.

PUBLIC AFFAIRS DEPARTMENT
SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE
02 September 2022 @ 12:50 PM