SINGAPORE: A prison officer allegedly used a work-related computer portal to conduct unauthorised checks on 34 inmates between April 2022 and February 2023.
Court documents did not disclose why Ahmad Rihyad Abd Rahim, 31, purportedly did so.
Ahmad, who resigned after the Singapore Prison Service (SPS) found out about his alleged actions, now faces three charges under the Computer Misuse Act. He is expected to plead guilty in a district court on May 27.
According to court documents, he was at the Selarang Park Complex Institution S1A in Upper Changi Road North in April 2022 when he allegedly used his assigned account for an inmate database system called the Prisons Operations and Rehabilitation System (Ports2) to conduct a check on a man.
Ahmad is accused of using the same Ports2 account to conduct unauthorised screenings on a female inmate on eight occasions between July 13 and Sept 3, 2022.
Separately, he is said to have committed similar offences linked to 32 other male and female inmates between June 2022 and February 2023.
SPS told The Straits Times in a statement on April 19 that the alleged offences first came to light when it conducted an internal audit on Ahmad’s usage of the inmate database system as part of investigations.
His access to the system was then suspended, and he was redeployed to other duties that did not involve interacting with inmates or having access to information on them.
Police arrested Ahmad after SPS lodged a report on May 30, 2023.
An SPS spokesperson told ST: “(We take) a very serious view of any unauthorised access to (our) internal systems.
“Any officer found to have done so will be reported to the appropriate authorities to be dealt with sternly and in accordance with the law.”
For each charge of the crime under the Computer Misuse Act, an offender can be jailed for up to two years and fined up to $5,000.
A repeat offender can be jailed for up to three years and fined up to $10,000. - The Straits Times/ANN
