Man jailed for exploiting EZ-Link auto top-ups of nearly S$110,000 to buy cigarettes

SINGAPORE: A man was jailed for a year on Thursday (Aug 4) for exploiting an automatic EZ-Link card top-up function to get S$109,900 that he used to buy cigarettes.

Chua Yi Da, 27, pleaded guilty to one charge of unauthorised access to computer material.

His three accomplices were Gary Yeo Jia Jun, 29, Darren Koh Wei Zhou, 26, and Cynthia Li Xinyi, 24. Yeo was earlier sentenced to one year in jail for his involvement, while the other cases are pending.

The court heard that in June 2019, the group conspired to exploit a loophole in the EZ-Reload programme.

This programme automatically topped up an EZ-Link card by a pre-selected amount whenever the card was used to make a purchase that exceeded the amount stored in the card.

The four obtained 801 EZ-Link cards, linked them to EZ-Link accounts and opted in to the EZ-Reload programme, said Deputy Public Prosecutor Samuel Chew.

They then applied to DBS Bank for multiple replacement cards for debit cards that they owned, using the bank's video teller machines. They obtained a total of 216 debit cards altogether.

Of these, Chua obtained 11 DBS debit cards in his own name, as well as 12 cards linked to a joint account he set up with Koh for this purpose.

He also got another 22 cards by asking his relative for a debit card and applying for replacement cards without the relative's knowledge.

The group then bought cigarettes using EZ-Link cards on several occasions. Court documents did not specify how much was stored on the cards, but the EZ-Reload programme topped up whenever the amount fell below S$0.

The scheme was discovered when a Cheers convenience store employee made a police report about several people making bulk purchases of cigarettes using EZ-Link cards.

A total of S$109,990 was topped up on the 801 cards. This loss was borne by EZ-Link as there was not enough money in the debit cards designated as the source of funds.

Chua and his accomplices never intended to pay for the automatic top-ups on the EZ-Link cards said Mr Chew. No restitution has been made to EZ-Link and the cigarettes obtained by the four could not be recovered.

Chua's defence counsel Tham Kok Leong asked for a lenient sentence, arguing that his client was "not a very intelligent man" and had been "led all the way" into carrying out the offences.

Responding to the defence's claim that Chua was directed to commit the offences by a loan shark, to whom he gave the cigarettes, the prosecution said these were bare assertions not supported by evidence.

Mr Chew also argued that Chua's culpability and the harm he caused was high, and sought one year in jail so that Chua's sentence would be on par with Yeo's.

The penalty for unauthorised access to computer material is jail for up to two years, a fine of up to S$5,000 or both.