Realtor fined over misuse of CNB computer system

Realtor fined over misuse of CNB computer system

An estate agent who got a friend in the Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) to misuse its computer system in a bid to find a "missing" man was fined $5,000 on Monday.

Lim Wui Kiat, 36, was asked by a Vietnamese woman called Doan Thi Kieu Giang to help locate her Singaporean husband - Hee Hoi Weng - because she wanted to divorce him.

In May 2010, Lim texted his friend Ho Kian Chong, 40, the NRIC number of Mr Hee and asked him to look for Mr Hee's address, which he sent back to Lim a day or two later.

Investigations revealed that Ho, then a staff sergeant and senior investigating officer with CNB, had found it by entering the NRIC number into the Integrated Drug Enforcement Administrative System (Ideas), which allowed him to access Mr Hee's biodata, Police Gazette records and CNB drug records - although he was not the subject of any investigation at the time. Mr Hee confirmed that he received the divorce papers in June 2010.

Lim admitted instigating Ho to use the system illegally and told the police he knew it was wrong for Ho to use Ideas when it was not for work purposes.

Ho, who had worked for CNB for 12 years, was jailed for two weeks last October. The CNB said he was suspended after being charged in court and is no longer in service. The maximum penalty for computer misuse is a $5,000 fine and two years' jail.


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