Former ICA officer fined S$29,000 for unauthorised access of travellers’ data

SINGAPORE — A former Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) officer based at Changi Airport was fined S$29,000 on Tuesday (Dec 26) for obtaining travellers’ personal details illegally.

Yeo Kian Boon, 31, had admitted to seven charges under the Computer Misuse and Cybersecurity Act. Another 16 counts under the Act were taken into consideration for sentencing purposes.

The court was told that on Dec 12, 2015, Yeo, who was deployed at Changi Airport Terminal 1 arrival hall as a team leader, cleared a Thai woman’s entry into Singapore.

As team leader, he had access to ICA computer systems that recorded travellers’ personal details and travel histories.

The following day, he added the Thai woman, Ms Kitimaporn Thummawipaporn, on Line, a messaging mobile application. He also tried calling her.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Alexander Woon told the court that Ms Kitimaporn had a video call with Yeo, on or before Dec 22, 2015, and “was surprised to find that he was the ICA officer who had cleared her into Singapore”.

She told her Singaporean boyfriend about the matter, and he wrote to the ICA to lodge a complaint.

After speaking with Ms Kitimaporn, Yeo got his colleague Lau Jia Yi to access an ICA portal for her details. Lau confirmed that Yeo had screened her for entry into Singapore, and also sent some of her information to Yeo via WhatsApp.

TODAY understands Lau has been dealt with.

On six other occasions on Dec 27, 2015, Yeo accessed the records of other female travellers from South Korea, Thailand and Japan. Court documents did not indicate what he did with the information.

Defence lawyer Cory Wong argued that his client’s intentions were “naive and innocent”, and stemmed from a “momentary lapse in judgment”. Yeo, who is now working in the administrative line, was “inept at interacting with the opposite sex (and had wanted to) build his confidence by chatting with women on Line”, he added.

In sentencing, District Judge Jasvender Kaur noted that all government departments “have a clear policy” that dictates access to sensitive data. Yeo’s actions were “a betrayal of trust” that could “lead the public to question the integrity” of public servants, she added.

Responding to TODAY’s queries, the ICA said that it took a serious view of officers who commit such offences. 

The authority said its officers are issued with advisories on offences such as the misuse of its IT systems. 

“ICA officers are expected to discharge their duties professionally and maintain a high standard of integrity,” the ICA spokesperson said. 

For unauthorised access of ICA’s portals, and for abetting his colleague to access the portals, Yeo could have been fined up to S$5,000, and/or jailed up to two years, on each count.