Data Register, previously known as Company Register, has been slapped with a S$200,000 fine on Friday, June 3.

This was after the Singapore company had sent thousands of letters and emails to other companies between late 2013 and 2014 asking them to verify details with it or risk being deleted from the “Singaporean Company Register” database.

The ruse caused 21,780 recipients to unwittingly subscribe to Data Register for an annual fee of S$490.

This was so as the letters sent out were designed to look similar to those from the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA).

Many business were duped as the letters included letterheads stating “Singapore Company Register” and other similarities to correspondence issued by ACRA.

Data Register had failed to comply with the requirement to state a company’s name and registration number in business correspondences, which is mandated under section 144 of the Companies Act.

In total, Data Register had failed to include its company name and registration number on 139,833 letters it sent out.

Pleaded guilty on eve of trial

In February 2016, Data Register was charged with 1,104 counts.

It pleaded guilty to 500 charges under the Companies Act, with another 604 taken into consideration during sentencing.

The S$200,000 fine is derived from the S$400 fine on each of the 500 proceeded charges, after Data Register was convicted last month.

The court heard that even after ACRA had begun investigations, Data Register continued to send out letters in 2014 to solicit new subscriptions and demand payment from existing subscribers.

As a result, the large number of public queries stemming from mass confusion among businesses caused Acra to spend nearly S$60,000 engaging external vendors to attend to queries concerning Data Register.

Moreover, Data Register’s “unsolicited business letters” contained “vague and threatening contents”.

This had affected ACRA’s public reputation and standing, as Data Register’s letters “gave rise to a reasonable inference that the letter was issued by ACRA”.

However, after the company was charged, it wrote to subscribers who had not yet used the firm’s services to offer them the opportunity to terminate their subscription and a refund of subscription fees.

This offer was limited to a 10-day window only.

Data Register then finally elected to plead guilty on the eve of the trial.

In sentencing the company, District Judge Jasvender Kaur said the incident led to a “wastage of public resources”.

The judge also said the foremost sentencing principles in this case were deterrence and retribution.

H/T: Channel News Asia, Today

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