STUDENTS and foreign workers are being used by Ah Longs to register mobile numbers which are used to advertise their business, China Press reported.

The daily reported that the Home Ministry and police were unable to take action against the Ah Longs because their mobile numbers were registered using the identity of foreign workers or students.

"Some of them get paid for the registration procedure but some were unaware that their identities had been used," the daily reported.

The report stated that these Ah Longs would liaise with handphone shop operators and ask them to register several more numbers when foreign workers or students signed up for prepaid services.

These shop operators said they were required to verify the applicants' identities by checking their IDs.

"However, there are some in the industry who do not follow the rule and allow such things to happen," one operator said.