Two men linked to Singapore-based Chinese cybercrime ring first to plead guilty

In the cluster discussion, Kim and Sun discussed the findings of the document and began negotiating a price with more information being included.

Sun offered to give a refund. Kong requested that Sun give him a list of phone numbers he had supply, as well as the personal information of persons from Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Kong and Seow were personally and concurrently deliberating whether the information was worthwhile for Sun’s asking amount during the negotiations that took place between August 21 and Sep 7.

On Sep 7, Seow asked Sun if he had files of Vietnam citizens. Sun sent a report containing the personal data of 6, 800 people including Asian names, email addresses, smart numbers and bank account numbers.

On Sep 13, Kong transferred 20, 000 USD Tether ( about S$ 26, 200 ) to Sun to pay for the full database of over a million people.

Yet, the two Malaysians did not receive the info, as Sun had been arrested.

Six men allegedly connected to the syndicate of “global harmful cyber operators” were arrested in simultaneous raids carried out by approximately 160 Criminal Investigation Department officers on September 9, according to the court.

Sun was detained at a Bidadari Park Drive property. He had system programs on his computer that he could use to carry out cyberattacks.

Five laptops, six mobile phones, income of more than S$ 24, 000 and bitcoin worth nearly US$ 850, 000 were likewise seized from him.

Kong and Seow belonged to the Malaysian WhatsApp chat group, which was discovered during police criminal investigations.

The two Malay entered Singapore on Sep 21 for the Grand Prix, and they were eventually detained when they attempted to leave.

SENTENCING Claims

The prosecution requested at least six months ‘ imprisonment for Seow and Kong, taking into account a maximum sentence of three years, a fine of up to S$ 10,000, or both for their respective offenses.

The test, according to the prosecution, was” a mere fraction of the entire set of data that the accused persons purchased, which is more than a million people.”

The crimes were premeditated, with comprehensive assessments conducted on a trial before finalising payment.

The crimes were even” clearly committed in the context of a wider net playing syndicate”, with the information intended for us for an online gambling activity, said the trial.

Seow’s doctors, Mr Sunil Sudheesan and Ms Joyce Khoo from Quahe Woo &amp, Palmer, sought a fine of around S$ 10, 000.

According to them, Seow was “forced to retire” from his place as executive chairman of Rexit Berhad after the court proceedings, which are “in and of themselves a significant consequence of the current case and constitute adequate punishment for our client.”

Mr Sudheesan said Seow is contrite, and that he was introduced to Sun by Andy, an encounter. &nbsp,

Seow has not met Sun and has never known how Sun obtained the files. He did not know what kind of personal knowledge was contained in the chat’s record, according to the attorney, who claimed he never opened it.

Seow even had” no direct participation in any online remote playing function whatsoever”, said Mr Sudheesan. He added that Sun and Kong were in the talk the majority of the time.

Kong’s professionals, Mr Pratap Kishan and Ms Jasmine Yan from Kishan Law Chambers, also sought a good for their customer, saying he is” not a dried legal” but that this was a “one-off event”.

Kong has known Seow for about 10 years, said Mr Pratap. Kong is the vice-president of Alphatel Global, a Kuala Lumpur-based company engaged in telemarketing and telesales. Additionally, he is a minority shareholder in a Malaysian company that is listed there, according to Mr. Pratap, and he also runs other businesses there.

Seow, according to Mr. Pratap, invited Kong to help with his business and invited him to the Sun WhatsApp group conversation.

He claimed Sun offered to sell Kong “leads containing contacts from Thailand” for the purposes of his business in Malaysia. According to Kong, “leveraging on purchased leads is the industry practice in Malaysia”, said the lawyer.

Kong acknowledges that it was “foolish of him” to not check whether Sun’s leads came from trustworthy sources, according to Mr. Pratap.

The accused repeatedly states that the transaction did not go ahead because he did not receive any leads from Mr. Sun after making the payment.

The two men will go back to court the following week for sentencing.

Sun is facing charges, along with a Singaporean man and five other Chinese nationals. The judge rejected Sun’s most recent request for bail.