SINGAPORE - Four men and four women are expected to be charged in court on Thursdaywith fraudulently registering prepaid SIM cards, the police said in a statement on Thursday.

Police have been conducting investigations since September 2013 against errant mobile phone shop dealers who are believed to have fraudulently registered prepaid SIM cards in bulk to make money.

Investigations revealed that a large proportion of these prepaid SIM cards were subsequently used by unlicensed moneylenders to facilitate their illicit activities.

The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has since completed investigations against these eight suspects, who are aged between 34 and 43.

They are suspected to have modified subscriber information, without authorisation, on a system which registers prepaid SIM cards belonging to three local telecommunications companies.

The suspects will be charged with various counts under Section 5(1) of the Computer Misuse and Cybersecurity Act. Each count carries a fine of up to $10,000, imprisonment for a term of up to three years, or both.

Two of the suspects, aged 41 and 43, will be charged with more than 700 counts of the said offence.

"Police take a serious view of errant retailers who engage in such illegal acts as prepaid SIM cards could potentially be exploited by criminals to mask their illicit activities," said Deputy Commissioner of Police (Investigations & Intelligence) and director of the CID, Tan Chye Hee.

"Police will not hesitate to take action against those who fraudulently register pre-paid SIM cards for monetary gains. They will face the full brunt of the law," he added.