SINGAPORE – A man who was looking for job opportunities ended up working for the mastermind of a syndicate that exploited loopholes in government-related systems to take over Singpass accounts.

As part of his job, Koh Hong Yan used his own Singpass account to approve transactions by clicking on Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) hyperlinks which the alleged mastermind behind the scheme, Ng Wei Chang, sent him.

In late 2024, the account was used to apply for the registered addresses of eight people to be changed via ICA’s electronic change of address (eCOA) system.

Koh also used his Singpass account to verify the change of addresses for five people. He knew none of these individuals, the court heard.

On March 17, Koh, 27, who told investigators that he received $500 in total for all the Singpass transactions that he approved, was sentenced to a year and three months’ jail.

He had pleaded guilty to offences including two charges involving the misuse of a computer system. The case involving Ng, 31, is pending.

Deputy public prosecutors Hon Yi, Jonathan Tan and Janessa Phua stated in court documents that Singpass credentials are used to access highly personal and sensitive information.

They added: “By exploiting loopholes in government systems... the syndicate’s actions had a detrimental impact on the Government’s push for more services and transactions to be conducted online.”

In 2020, ICA introduced the eCOA service on its website, which members of the public can use to update their registered addresses.

An applicant can access the eCOA system by logging in and verifying his or her identity by using Singpass. The applicant can then in...