A 42-YEAR-OLD man who allegedly modified the contents of a computer system used for registering prepaid SIM cards without authorisation was charged in court yesterday.

Tan Kong Chieh was charged with 660 counts of the offence under the Computer Misuse and Cybersecurity Act.

He stands accused of registering false ownership information for SIM cards belonging to local telecoms companies Singtel, StarHub and M1.

The alleged acts took place between July 2010 and August 2012.

Investigations against him by the Commercial Affairs Department were concluded recently.

He requested four weeks' adjournment in order to hire a lawyer, but was granted about two weeks to do so.

Tan was seen smiling as he left the State Courts building yesterday.

He is currently out on $30,000 bail, which has been extended.

Police said in a statement that they will not hesitate to take action against those involved in such acts, and will ensure that they face the full brunt of the law.

His case will be mentioned again on July 14.

If convicted, he could be fined up to $10,000, jailed for up to three years, or both, for each count of the offence.

REI KUROHI