SINGAPORE - A DBS relationship manager allegedly accessed a customer's bank account without authority and transferred more than US$102,000 (S$139,000) to other accounts.
Liaw Tick Kwan, 37, who has since left the bank, was charged in court on Tuesday (Dec 18) with three counts of cheating, two offences under the Computer Misuse and Cybersecurity Act, and one count of concealing the benefits of his alleged criminal conduct.
Between Sept 10, 2013, and May 28, 2014, Liaw is said to have accessed without authority Mr Chin Tian Loke's bank account before transferring US$83,000 to another account belonging to a firm, Mean Chey International Investment Co.
Liaw is also accused of transferring nearly US$4,700 to a bank account belonging to a woman identified in court as Ms Chou Ching Ping.
Court documents did not reveal details about the connection between Mr Chin and Ms Chou.
Liaw allegedly made another unauthorised access into Mr Chin's bank account on Oct 8, 2014 and transferred nearly US$15,000 to Ms Chou's account.
Liaw is also accused of duping Mr Chin into handing over a cheque for $4,100 on Oct 24, 2013.
He allegedly deceived Mr Chin into believing that the cheque was used to pay fees. Court documents did not state what these fees were for.
Liaw is said to have cheated Ms Chou about a year later, duping her into handing over more than $67,000 in cash.
He is accused of cheating Mr Chin again on March 9, 2015, and allegedly duped him into handing over a cheque for more than $24,000.
Liaw is also accused of concealing the benefits of his alleged criminal conduct involving nearly US$20,000 between May 28 and Oct 8, 2014.
He allegedly transferred the amount from Mr Chin's bank account to one belonging to Ms Chou.
Responding to queries from The Straits Times, a DBS spokesman said: "Mr Liaw has not been with the bank since May 2014. We are not able to comment further as the matter is under police investigation."
Liaw was offered bail of $50,000 and will be back in court on Jan 15 next year.
If convicted of cheating, he can be jailed for up to 10 years as well as fined for each charge.
