Singapore has just passed the Law Enforcement and Other Matters Bill, which imposes tougher offences and penalties on those who misuse SIM cards for fraud.
According to the bill passed by the Singaporean Parliament, three groups of subjects are identified as violating the regulations: those who register for telecommunications services with bad intentions, retailers, and intermediaries who trade in domestic SIM cards to facilitate fraudulent activities.
Accordingly, subscribers with bad intentions are those who give away SIM cards or provide their details to others to register for SIM cards. However, those with legitimate reasons such as registering SIM cards for family members will not fall into this category and those who are tricked into providing details will not be prosecuted.
Intermediaries are those who broker SIM cards for misuse, including providing domestic SIM cards to fraudulent organisations; receiving, providing or possessing domestic SIM cards registered with other people's details and unregistered SIM cards for criminal purposes.
Anyone who has 11 or more SIM cards or has a SIM card that has previously been used to commit a crime will be held liable. However, anyone with a legitimate reason, such as an employer, to keep an employee's SIM card will not be prosecuted.
Offending retailers are those who facilitate fraudulent registration of domestic SIM cards. Mobile service providers or retailers register domestic SIM cards using other people's personal information without permission...
Offences by those registering SIM cards with malicious intent will be punishable by a fine of up to $10,000 and imprisonment of up to three years. Similarly, offences by brokers and retailers of SIM cards for misuse will be punishable by a fine of up to $10,000 and imprisonment of up to three years for a first offence. Repeat offenders can be punished by a fine of up to $20,000 and imprisonment of up to five years.
In 2023, Singapore detected 46,000 cases of telecommunications fraud, a record high, with losses reaching US$651.8 million.
MINH CHAU
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