Tuition agency, boss face 'Do Not Call' charges

Tuition agency, boss face 'Do Not Call' charges

SINGAPORE - A tuition agency and its director were hauled to court yesterday to face 37 counts of violating the "Do Not Call" rules, making them the first to be charged since the rules kicked in from Jan 2.

Law Han Wei, 35, a director of Star Zest Home Tuition, and the company allegedly sent messages to mobile subscribers to market the services of its tutors between Jan 3 and 14.

They are said to have done this without applying to the Personal Data Protection Commission to confirm whether the Singapore telephone numbers were listed in the Do Not Call (DNC) Registry.

They are also accused of sending the messages before getting confirmation within the prescribed duration that the numbers were not listed.

The rules ban companies from marketing to any number listed on the registry without first getting consent.

The registry was set up to let consumers block unsolicited marketing calls, SMS messages and faxes by listing their numbers. More than 600,000 phone numbers are on it.

Other rules dealing with the way groups collect, use and disclose personal data will kick in next month.

Law, who was unrepresented, indicated that he would plead guilty. He said he had not decided whether to engage a lawyer.

The case will be mentioned again on July 2. Anyone convicted under the Personal Data Protection Act could be fined up to $10,000 per charge.


This article was first published on June 5, 2014.
Get a copy of The Straits Times or go to straitstimes.com for more stories.

This website is best viewed using the latest versions of web browsers.