Ex-sales consultant jailed for using StarHub customers’ NRIC details to get S$183,000 in mobile phones

• Sim Zong Hui hatched his plan when he had to repay his gambling debts of about S$40,000
• He abused a StarHub system to get customers’ details and got 14 mobile phones
• He then got another 157 phones with his ex-colleague’s help
• He made S$130,860 in profits and the telco suffered a loss of around S$183,000

SINGAPORE — Saddled with heavy gambling debts, Sim Zong Hui procured scanned images of StarHub customers’ identification details and used them to sign up for new mobile subscription plans.

The sales consultant then sold the phones at retail outlets and online. He managed to cheat the telco of almost S$200,000 within a few months, roping in his ex-colleague midway through his criminal enterprise.

The 31-year-old was sentenced to three years’ jail on Monday (March 22) in a district court after pleading guilty to two cheating charges. He will begin serving his sentence on April 5.

At the time of his offences in 2019, he worked at Planet Telecoms, a mobile handset retailer engaged by StarHub to process its telco contracts. He was mostly stationed at Lot 1 Shoppers’ Mall in Chua Chu Kang and Sun Plaza mall in Sembawang.

He began gambling in 2013 and started to do it more often from April 2019, borrowing money from friends as his losses piled up. His debts soon hit about S$40,000 and he hatched a plan in June to get more cash in order to repay his debts.

MODUS OPERANDI

First, he got scanned images of customers’ National Registration Identity Cards (NRIC) through StarHub’s iDeal system. He was given a unique user ID to access it in order to perform transactions.

Next, he keyed in their particulars in the system without their consent, signing up for new mobile subscription plans under StarHub.

He would scan a blank paper multiple times to skip the process of uploading the NRIC images into the system. He keyed in randomly generated names, and entered the addresses of foreign workers’ dormitories for the addresses.

He then made upfront payments — if required — to get new mobile phones. After collecting them, he scanned them to ensure the phone stocks appeared to be accounted for and he could get away undetected.

He then resold the phones at a Toa Payoh handset retailer shop.

From June 26 to July 10, 2019, he sold 14 phones valued at S$14,090.

KEPT MANY PHONES FROM ACCOMPLICE

In early July that year, he met his former StarHub colleague — Benjamin Loh Boon Hong, 30 — for lunch. Loh was working as a director of a family-run company at the time.

Sim then introduced Loh to his scheme, but did not tell him he had previously used the NRIC details of existing StarHub customers.

Loh initially refused to join the scheme as he had just been released from serving a five-month sentence in jail, but finally agreed several days later.

He has also been charged in court over these offences and his case is pending.

Loh asked his prison friend, Danny Lim Poh Chai, for images of NRICs belonging to debtors who had borrowed money from loan sharks. He then sent them to Sim through messaging platform WhatsApp.

Sim would collect new mobile phones and pass them to Loh to sell at various mobile retailers, before the two men split the proceeds equally.

Loh also began hawking the phones on e-marketplace Carousell at slightly below the market price to sell them quickly.

While Sim managed to get 157 more phones with Loh’s help, he passed Loh only 41 of them, keeping the others without Loh’s knowledge to sell on his own. He could then pocket the entire sales proceeds.

The scheme lasted till Sept 21, 2019. Two days later, a StarHub customer complained to the telco that her NRIC had been used without her consent.

StarHub launched an internal investigation and a fraud investigator eventually lodged a police report on their behalf in November 2019. Five other people, including a StarHub customer, also separately made police reports.

StarHub suffered a total loss of about S$183,000. Sim spent the money to settle his gambling debts and fund his mother’s kidney dialysis treatment and medication.

He has since paid back about S$150,000.

‘SUCCUMBED TO FINANCIAL STRESS’: LAWYERS

Deputy Public Prosecutor Hidayat Amir argued for three years and eight months’ jail, while his lawyers — Mr Remy Choo and Ms Ashley Yeo from law firm Peter Low & Choo — asked for two years.

In mitigation, they said that he contributed significantly to his mother’s medical expenses despite earning only about S$2,000 a month.

He got engaged in 2018 and consistently incurred expenses on top of that. Because of this, he had to borrow more money from friends and colleagues, the lawyers added.

His wife then left him when he was remanded for investigations.

He had also gained S$130,860 in profits from reselling the phones, which was less than what he had repaid StarHub before he was even charged.

“This may possibly be the first case before the court where the amount of restitution actually exceeds the amount of profit earned by an accused person,” the lawyers noted.

“He understands that he had succumbed to the financial stress and pressures of meeting the expectations of his loved ones, which led to a series of poor financial decisions and lapses of judgement, eventually culminating in the charges.”

For each cheating charge, Sim could have been jailed for up to 10 years and fined.