SINGAPORE: New charges tendered on Tuesday (Oct 8) against three Chinese nationals in an alleged global cybercrime syndicate based in Singapore reveal a flow of funds of about S$11.6 million (US$8.9 million) into the upkeep of the group and links to South Korea.
Exact details into the workings of the syndicate are sketchy at this early stage of court proceedings.
However, based on court records, charge sheets and an earlier press statement issued jointly by the police and the Internal Security Department (ISD), the trio are part of a larger group of seven men, all Chinese nationals except one Singaporean.
The group allegedly operated from a bungalow in Mount Sinai and is believed to be linked to a global syndicate dabbling in cyber crime.
Laptops and devices seized from them contained credentials to access Internet servers used by known hacker groups, stolen data belonging to foreign victims, computer hacking tools exploiting vulnerabilities in Internet servers and specialised software to control malware.
The Chinese nationals allegedly obtained entry into Singapore with work passes that allowed them to work in construction, but they purportedly did not stay at the workplace of their registered employer.
The suspects were arrested on Sep 9 in simultaneous islandwide raids by about 160 SPF and ISD officers.
The seven accused men are: Chinese nationals Sun Jiao, 42, Zhang Qingqiao, 38, Chen Yiren, 42, Yan Peijian, 38, Huang Qin Zheng, 35, Liu Yuqi, 32, and Singaporean Goh Shi Yong, 34.
The three men who received fresh charges on Tuesday are Sun, Zhang and Chen.
Chen’s new charge accuses him of receiving about S$11.6 million from a person known as “Biao Ge”, which Chen spent on the rent, upkeep and expenses of an organised criminal group comprising Yan, Huang, Liu and Sun.
This allegedly includes funding for the Mount Sinai bungalow.
Of the S$11.6 million, Chen allegedly “expended” about S$399,000 over 11 occasions between 2022 and 2024, in a charge under the Organised Crime Act.
Zhang is newly accused of abetting two people – Lim Clovis Leslie and Lee Kok Leong – to obtain the personal information of unknown individuals on Jul 28, 2023.
Sun received two new charges. He is accused of sending a file containing the personal information of 1,055 unknown people from South Korea to a WhatsApp chat group on Aug 12, 2023, while he was in Singapore.
He is also accused of receiving 772,500 USDT in cryptocurrency from a wallet belonging to co-accused Liu, which allegedly came from criminal conduct.
The previous charges levied against the men paint a picture of the suspects allegedly targeting websites to scan for open ports and exploit vulnerabilities, offering to purchase personal information of Indian nationals found on gambling websites and sending a file containing personal information of 9,369 individuals from Thailand to other people.
According to a prosecutor’s submissions in unsuccessful bail reviews on Oct 1, the Chinese men involved are foreigners in syndicated, transnational offences with amounts involved “in excess of S$1 million”.
The public hearing list indicates that Sun is defended by Mr Hong Qibin, Ms Elaine Cai and Mr Daniel Chia from Coleman Street Chambers.
Yan is defended by Mr Ong Kelvin from Contigo Law, Chen is defended by Mr Steven John Lam from Templars Law, while Mr Lee Teck Leng from Legal Clinic is representing both Huang and Liu.
Zhang is represented by Mr Sunil Sudheesan and Ms Joyce Khoo from Quahe Woo & Palmer, and Goh is represented by Mr Soon Wei Song from Goh JP & Wong.
Sun and Chen have bail reviews fixed for Thursday. They have been remanded for about a month. The other five men are set to return to court later this month.
Aside from the main group, another two Malaysian men face charges in Singapore linked to conspiring to supply the personal information of 9,369 people from Thailand in a file sent from Singapore.
Seow Gim Shen, 42, and 39-year-old Kong Chien Hoi are set to plead guilty next week.
