Alleged Messiah hacker 'a flight risk'

Alleged Messiah hacker 'a flight risk'

Alleged "Messiah" hacker James Raj Arokiasamy should be denied bail - because the last time he was granted it, he fled to Malaysia, prosecutors argued Tuesday.

The 35-year-old had been out on police bail in 2011 pending analysis of his urine for drugs when he failed to report to the Central Narcotics Bureau as required, Deputy Public Prosecutor Wong Woon Kwong told the court.

Not only did he not answer the drug charges, he went on to live in Malaysia for more than two years with "no ostensible difficulty".

"Were it not for the efforts of the Royal Malaysian Police, the accused would still be on the run and safely out of reach from the arm of the law," the prosecution submitted, and said the accused "poses a clear flight risk". "Investigations are also ongoing into other offences that he may have committed while on the run."

A fresh drug charge was also levelled Tuesday against James Raj, who allegedly used the pseudonym "The Messiah" when he hacked into the Ang Mo Kio Town Council website on Oct 28.

It was alleged that he consumed a controlled drug on Nov 4, the day he was arrested by Malaysian police. He now faces four drug charges, on top of one under the Computer Misuse Act for the cyber intrusion.

DPP Wong told the court that the prosecution would be ready to accept a plea on the drug charges next week, while investigations into the cyber intrusion charge were still ongoing.

Previous submissions by the prosecution had said that James Raj was "reasonably suspected as having carried out a series of hacking incidents".

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Meanwhile James Raj's lawyer, Mr M. Ravi, clarified to the court his client's earlier allegations in court of police mistreatment.

He said his client claimed he was assaulted by Royal Malaysian Police on the day of his arrest, while a Central Narcotics Bureau officer and a Technology Crimes Forensic Branch officer from Singapore stood by.

"He was pleading with the Singapore police to assist him when Malaysian police officers assaulted him, (but) nothing was done by Singapore police - not the CNB nor the TCFB officer - on this matter," said Mr Ravi.

James Raj also claimed that when he was in the custody of police here on Nov 5, he was denied access to medical treatment for a day after he had complained of concussion.

When asked about the allegations, the police declined to comment as the case is before the courts. A spokesman said: "These are issues which can be addressed in the course of court proceedings."

District Judge Soh Tze Bian asked Mr Ravi to respond to the prosecution's submissions that James Raj be denied bail and also to take instructions on how he intended to plead on the drug charges.

The judge noted that the accused had denied being behind the town council website hacking in an Institute of Mental Health report tendered to the court last week.

The report said he was not of unsound mind and did not suffer from Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. The court will hear defence submissions and James Raj's bail application today.


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