SINGAPORE - The Singapore Accountancy Commission (SAC) in a statement on Friday cautioned against a hoax e-mail message that has been circulating.

It advised members of the public to "exercise caution" with e-mail messages purportedly sent from its chief executive Mr Uantchern Loh with the subject line 'SAC Violation Notice'.

"These e-mails did not originate from the SAC and were not sent by the chief executive of the SAC, Mr Uantchern Loh," the statement clarified.

"The e-mail hoax was sent from a non-existent e-mail address (uantchern.loh@sac.gov.sg) which is different from the official e-mail addresses of the SAC staff."

The statutory body, which spearheads the development of the accountancy sector in Singapore, added: "We take a serious view of this attempt to impersonate the Chief Executive of SAC and are now conducting an investigation. A police report has also been filed."