COMPUTER CRIMES

Mr Heng Chiang Meng asked the Minister for Home Affairs how many computer crimes were committed in 1988, 1989 and 1990;what were the financial values of these crimes; and what was the rate of successful prosecution.

Prof. S Jayakumar: During this period there were only 3 reported cases, all occurring in 1989.

In two of the cases, the accused used the computers as a necessary step in a series of transactions to cheat and commit criminal breach of trust. They were employees who had authorised access to the computers and manipulated them fraudulently. They were not computer "experts" and there was no 'hacking' or breaking of any security code.

The first case involved an amount of S$500,000, of which S$127,000 was recovered. In the second case there was restitution of the full amount of S$24,000. In both cases, the culprits were arrested and successfully prosecuted in Court under the Penal Code.

The third case involved a security guard's intrusion into a computer system owned by the organisation at which he was stationed. The culprit had only accessed the system to play computer games and there was no financial loss. He did not have any special training in computer operations. In this case, no prosecution was instituted on the Public Prosecutor's advice. I understand that he was dismissed from service of the security organisation.