Probation for man who picked up another NSF's IC in Pulau Tekong and used it for mobile plans
Soldiers eating at Basic Military Training Centre (BMTC) on Pulau Tekong on Feb 11. (Photo: Try Sutrisno Foo)
SINGAPORE: A national serviceman (NSF) who picked up another person's Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) 11B identity card in Pulau Tekong did not return it and instead used it to sign up for mobile plans.
James Ng Hong Quan, 20, later sold the mobile phones that came bundled with the plans for cash. The victim was left with bills of more than S$3,000 incurred by Ng.
For two counts of cheating the telcos and one count of dishonestly misappropriating the SAF 11B IC taken into consideration, Ng was given 18 months' probation on Tuesday (Sep 22).
He will also have to perform 60 hours of community service, undergo regular urine tests and have his parents furnish a bond of S$5,000 to ensure his good behaviour.
The court heard that Ng was a full-time NSF in an army camp on Pulau Tekong at the time of the offences.
In end-June last year, he found an SAF 11B identity card in the canteen at Pulau Tekong camp belonging to another 20-year-old NSF. An SAF 11B identity card is an IC used by SAF personnel.
Later that month, he went to a StarHub store in Bedok Mall and used the victim's card to apply for a mobile plan.
The plan, priced at S$75 per month for two years, came with a Samsung Galaxy phone valued at S$1,398.
Despite knowing he was not the person named on the identity card or on the service agreement signed with StarHub, Ng deceived the telco and received the phone, knowing that the bills would be charged to the victim.
He later sold the phone to a second-hand phone shop for about S$780. He also used the SIM card issued with the StarHub subscription plan to buy S$150 worth of game credits, which were billed to the victim.
Ng also used the victim's card to purchase a mobile subscription plan priced at S$78 per month for two years with Singtel. The plan similarly came with a S$1,398 Samsung Galaxy phone, which he sold off for S$800.
Ng then used the SIM card that came with the plan to top up S$200 to his Dash mobile wallet account, which was billed to the victim.
The victim was billed S$1,802 by StarHub and S$1,502 by Singtel. He lodged a police report in August last year, saying he had lost his SAF 11B identity card and received overdue bill notices for mobile plans he never signed up for.
For each charge of cheating, Ng could have been jailed for up to 10 years and fined.
