Six mainland Chinese nationals, aged 32 to 42, and one Singaporean, aged 34, were charged in court on Sep. 10 and 11 for their suspected involvement in illegal global cyber activities in Singapore.

At least six of the seven people, including the Singaporean, are believed to be linked to a global syndicate which conducts malicious cyber activities, according to a press release by the Singapore Police Force (SPF).

They were arrested following a raid carried out on Sep. 9, which involved 160 police officers from the SPF's Criminal Investigation Department, Police Intelligence Department, Special Operations Command and the Internal Security Department.

The operation involved simultaneous raids at multiple residential locations island-wide, with electronic devices and cash amounting to S$543,600 seized during the operation.

Arrest locations

Bidadari Park Drive

One of the Chinese nationals, a 42-year-old, was arrested at his residence at a condominium along Bidadari Park Drive.

He was found in possession of a laptop that contained credentials to access internet servers used by known hacker groups.

Five laptops, six mobile phones, cash of more than S$24,000 and cryptocurrency worth approximately USD$850,000 were also seized from him.

Cairnhill Road

Another Chinese national, a 38-year-old, was arrested at his residence at a condominium along Cairnhill Road.

He was suspected of offering to purchase personally identifiable information that was believed to have been obtained through illegal means.

The police seized one laptop, nine mobile phones and cash of S$465,000 from him.

Mount Sinai Avenue

The remaining three Chinese nationals were arrested at their residence at a landed residential property along Mount Sinai Avenue.

A 38-year-old man was found in possession of laptops containing data obtained without authorisation, such as the personal information of people outside Singapore.

This included personally identifiable information relating to foreign internet service provider.

Two laptops, three mobile phones, cash of more than S$52,000 and other foreign currency were seized from him.

Another 35-year-old man was found in possession of a laptop containing various computer hacking tools and was suspected to have made preparations to conduct cyber-attacks, such as by exploiting vulnerabilities in internet servers.

Two laptops, four mobile phones, cash of more than S$2,600 and other foreign currency were seized from him.

The third individual, a 32-year-old man, was found in possession of a laptop containing various specialised software to control malware.

Three laptops and four mobile phones were seized from him.

Hougang Avenue

The Singaporean was arrested at his residence at a HDB block along Hougang Avenue for suspicion of abetting the offences in relation to the above-mentioned illegal cyber activities.

Seventh man charged on Sep. 11

CNA further reported that a seventh man, another Chinese national aged 42 years old, was also subsequently arrested and charged on Sep. 11 for instigating the Singaporean to help the three accused who lived at Mount Sinai Avenue.

This individual is accused of instructing the Singaporean to subscribe to a Singtel broadband plan.

All seven men have been remanded in custody.

Under the Computer Misuse Act 1993, the offence of unauthorised access to computer material under the Computer Misuse Act 1993 carries a fine of up to S$5,000, an imprisonment term of up to two years, or both.

Meanwhile, the offence of retaining or offering to supply personal information which is obtained without authorisation, and the offence of retaining software which could be used to commit other offences. are both punishable with a fine of up to S$10,000, or an imprisonment term of up to three years, or both.

As for the offence of abetting the securing of unauthorised access to websites, it is punishable with a fine of up to S$5,000, or imprisonment term of up to two years, or both, for a first-time offender.

Top photos via SPF