SINGAPORE — A jobless man was sentenced to five weeks and five days’ jail on Thursday (Sept 30) for using the National Registration Identity Card (NRIC) numbers of seven people who had been declared bankrupt to redeem face masks.

Yu Kwong Zee, a Singaporean, had gotten these details from the bankruptcy section of The Straits Times newspaper.

He became the third person this week to be jailed for using other people’s NRIC numbers to redeem face masks.  

The 51-year-old pleaded guilty on Thursday to cheating by personation, as well as another charge of retaining the personal information of others without their consent.

One other charge of having 13 masks in his possession that he could not satisfactorily account for was taken into consideration for sentencing.

At the time of his offences, Temasek Foundation, the non-profit philanthropic arm of state investment firm Temasek Holdings, had begun the third round of its nationwide mask distribution exercise that ran from Nov 30 to Dec 13 last year. 

People here are legally required to wear face masks to curb the spread of Covid-19.

Singapore residents could collect one pair of black face masks each from designated vending machines across the island, at all community centres and clubs.  

They may do so by keying in their NRIC numbers or scanning the barcode on their NRIC, birth certificate or any form of government-issued identification at the vending machine. No further verification was required, and only one pair of masks would be issued for every NRIC number.

The court heard that on Dec 3 last year, Yu was reading The Straits Times when he came across a list of NRIC numbers of individuals who had been declared bankrupt.

He wrote down seven numbers on a piece of paper, keying them into a vending machine at Nee Soon Community Centre in Yishun on Dec 5 to claim face masks.

He then kept the masks in their unopened packs at home.

On Dec 8, a 38-year-old victim made a police report saying that he was unable to redeem his masks. 

The authorities used closed-circuit television footage, which had caught Yu at the vending machine, to identify Yu and seized a total of 20 masks from his place.

In mitigation, Yu’s lawyer Cheryl Sim from Regent Law said that he committed the offences on the spur of the moment and that the information was public. It was also his first brush with the law.

Ms Sim added that he was “deeply apologetic” and has been facing financial struggles while supporting his parents.

For cheating, Yu could have been jailed for up to 10 years and fined. He could also have been jailed for up to three years or fined up to S$10,000, or both, for unlawfully retaining personal information.