SINGAPORE — Five people will be charged on Monday (Aug 16) for allegedly using illegally obtained personal information to collect face masks from Temasek Foundation vending machines during the masks distribution exercises, said the police.

This includes a 59-year-old man who is suspected of redeeming 257 face masks from these machines using fraudulent means.

In a news release on Sunday, the police said that three men and two women, aged between 34 and 59, were believed to be involved in separate incidents of using fraudulently obtained NRIC and FIN numbers to redeem the masks.

The 59-year-old man was suspected to have "dishonestly induced Temasek Foundation to deliver 13 mask packs through the mask vending machines" by falsely representing that he was authorised to collect the masks on behalf of the people whose NRIC numbers he had obtained in his course of work.

The police said that through their investigations, the man was found with another 244 face masks that were believed to be fraudulently obtained.

The man will be charged with one count of cheating and one count of fraudulent possession of property, the police added.

In a separate case, a 34-year-old man allegedly went to multiple locations to redeem 14 face masks from the vending machines using other people's NRIC numbers, which were sent to him by accident or obtained in the course of his work.

The man will be charged with one count of cheating, said the police.

A 58-year-old man also allegedly redeemed 11 face masks from the vending machines by using the NRIC numbers of his clients without their authorisation for his own use. He will be charged with two counts of cheating.

A woman, aged 47, reportedly redeemed eight face masks using the FIN and NRIC numbers she had obtained in the course of her work. She had also retained the numbers without the owners' consent.

She will be charged with one count of cheating and one count of illegally obtaining personal information, the police added.

A 43-year-old woman also allegedly redeemed 10 face masks using NRIC numbers of her clients without their authorisation. She will be charged with two counts of cheating and two counts of illegally obtaining personal information.

If convicted, those found guilty of cheating may be jailed for up to 10 years and fined.

For illegally retaining obtained personal information, offenders may be jailed for up to three years, fined up to S$10,000, or both.

For fraudulently possessing property under the Miscellaneous Offences (Public Order and Nuisance) Act, offenders may be jailed for up to one year, fined up to S$3,000, or both. CNA

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