SINGAPORE – A Vietnamese national purportedly linked to a group that doctored photographs to use for extortion has been charged in court.

The photos of individuals, including politicians, were manipulated to show them in intimate situations.

Nguyen Lan Dung was one of 12 people under investigation for suspected involvement in the use of bank accounts and SIM cards for extortion. She allegedly helped others secure access to banking services provided by UOB.

Seven men and four other women, aged between 18 and 46, remain under investigation.

The 23-year-old was charged on May 2 with one count of facilitating unauthorised access to computer material under the Computer Misuse Act.

Dung, who did not enter a plea, will be remanded for further investigations. Her case will be heard again on May 9.

She is purportedly part of a group of individuals who sent out letters of extortion between March and April containing photos manipulated to show the recipients in intimate or compromising positions.

The recipients were told to contact the e-mail address provided or face threatening consequences. Several politicians were among those who received the extortion letters.

On April 20, Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan, and MPs Tan Wu Meng (Jurong GRC) and Edward Chia (Holland-Bukit Timah GRC) put up social media posts saying they have filed police reports.

Court documents showed Dung had allegedly abetted someone referred to as Tuan Hung by altering a UOB bank account’s details, including the contact number and e-mail address.

She is accused of handing over the account’s credentials to Tuan Hung and other unknown people.

In a statement on May 1, the police said they received more than 170 reports of victims getting extortion letters between March and April.

“In one of the reports, a 50-year-old victim suffered a loss of $20,000 after responding to the e-mail address and transferring the money to a bank account allegedly provided by the other party,” said the police.

Dung and the other 11 suspects were allegedly found to have been facilitating the criminal activities of overseas scam syndicates, said the police.

This was done by procuring bank accounts for criminal activities, facilitating or assisting in the unauthorised access of Singpass accounts, or buying SIM cards illegally.

The authorities seized the electronic devices linked to the operation, and recovered at least $115,000 of suspected criminal proceeds.

Dung can be jailed for up to two years, fined, or both if found guilty of facilitating unauthorised access to computer material.