Executive admitted to unlawfully accessing customers' bank profiles: reports
A former assistant vice president at OCBC Bank was jailed on Friday after admitting to unlawfully accessing the information of 396 bank customers, including politicians and high-profile individuals.
Au Jia Hao, 39, was sentenced to 10 weeks in jail after pleading guilty to one charge under the Computer Misuse Act, Channel News Asia reported.
The charge comes after Au used his access to the bank's Silverlake Integrated Banking System to look up information of bank customers, including their National Registration Identity Card (NRIC) numbers, dates of birth, addresses, bank account balances, as well as education and employment histories.
According to the CNA report, the data Au accessed included high-profile individuals, such as politicians and influencers, as well as his personal connections, including family and colleagues.
Au's offence took place starting November 8, 2022, about a month after he was employed at OCBC, until July 31, 2023.
His actions were discovered in August 2023 after OCBC's risk department flagged his account for looking up the profile of a senior employee.
Au admitted to the action when confronted, leading to his termination by the bank on September 7, 2023. OCBC also filed a police report shortly afterward, according to the CNA report.
In court, Deputy Public Prosecutor Colin Ng emphasised the severity of the offence, noting the potential for misuse of the sensitive data, especially considering some of the individuals Au accessed were public figures.
Defence lawyer Kalidass Murugaiyan, however, argued for a lighter sentence of four weeks, suggesting that Au's actions might have been influenced by depression and mental health challenges.
Murugaiyan also pointed out that Au was a first-time offender with a history of volunteering for the Singapore Red Cross.
Au also said that he did not disclose the accessed customer data, which he argued that he only looked up because of curiosity and stress from work.
But District Judge Wong Peck noted the seriousness of the offence, noting that Au had abused his access to customer data.
"Unfortunately, as a bank employee, and some more, you're an (assistant vice president), this is clearly the wrong thing to do," Peck said as quoted by the CNA.
