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Property agent charged for flouting DNC laws

SINGAPORE — A property agent with Huttons Asia was yesterday charged for breaching the Do Not Call (DNC) Registry requirements under the Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA).

Kuan Chow Sheng, a property agent, is charged for breaching the Do Not Call (DNC) requirements under the Personal Data Protection Act, Sept 24, 2014. Photo: Wee Teck Hian

Kuan Chow Sheng, a property agent, is charged for breaching the Do Not Call (DNC) requirements under the Personal Data Protection Act, Sept 24, 2014. Photo: Wee Teck Hian

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SINGAPORE — A property agent with Huttons Asia was yesterday charged for breaching the Do Not Call (DNC) Registry requirements under the Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA).

Kuan Chow Sheng, 32, allegedly sent unsolicited text messages advertising various property developments to Singapore numbers listed in the DNC Registry between Feb 8 and March 2 this year.

He faces 27 counts of contravening Section 43(1) of the PDPA, relating to the obligation to check the DNC Registry before sending any telemarketing messages to Singapore telephone numbers.

Kuan, who is still a registered salesperson with Huttons Asia, told the court he has no plans to engage counsel and intends to plead guilty.

His case will next be heard on Oct 20.

If found guilty, Kuan will be fined up to S$10,000 per text message sent.

Huttons Asia said it takes the incident seriously as it has “always respected the privacy of (its) customers”.

“We regret that our associate may have inadvertently sent out unsolicited telemarketing messages ... We will continue to emphasise the importance of compliance to (the Act) and conduct trainings, briefings and reminders to raise awareness amongst our associates and prevent a recurrence of a similar nature,” said a spokesperson.

The spokesperson added that the company has not decided whether it would take any action against Kuan, as the case has been adjourned.

Since December last year, Huttons Asia has held training sessions for more than 1,200 of its agents to ensure they are familiar with the PDPA’s regulations. Agents were also requested to sign up with the DNC Registry or a third-party vendor as telemarketers so they can perform DNC checks throughout the course of their work.

All its agents will soon be required to take an online assessment on their knowledge of the PDPA.

According to the Personal Data Protection Commission, the real-estate sector contributes to about 47 per cent of complaints pertaining to DNC-related offences.

Kuan is the first in the sector to be charged.

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