Jail for cop who illegally accessed police portal on wife's instigation to obtain private info

A police inspector was asked by an acquaintance to conduct a check on one of the latter's customers who owed him some money.

The officer was reluctant to do so, until his wife, who knew the acquaintance's girlfriend, scolded him and told him to perform the check.

Patrick Lim Kei Hao, 46, who resigned from the Singapore Police Force in June 2024, was sentenced to three weeks' jail on Oct 24.

Lim had pleaded guilty to two charges: misusing a computer system and an offence under the Official Secrets Act.

He had obtained a man's details from a police platform known as the Versatile Unified Explorer and shared them with Yong Yuheng.

According to court documents, Yong, 32, then used the information to look for his customer, who owed him an undisclosed amount of money at the time.

He eventually managed to contact the man via WhatsApp and settled the outstanding payment.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Lu Huiyi said that at the time of the offences in December 2023, Lim was a deputy officer-in-charge at the Ang Mo Kio Division Investigation Branch.

His wife Jenny Pham Thi Hue, 39, got to know Yong through the younger man's girlfriend. Lim was also acquainted with Yong, the court heard.

Court documents stated that Yong sent Lim a message via WhatsApp on Dec 18, 2023, asking for the check on his customer.

"The accused was initially reluctant to help Yong to check on his customer's address. However, Jenny scolded him and told him to help Yong find out the information. The accused decided to do so," DPP Lu said.

On Dec 21 that year, Lim obtained the customer's information from the police platform and gave Yong the details, including the customer's identity card number and address.

Court documents did not disclose how Lim's offences came to light, but he was later charged in court in 2025.

On Oct 24, DPP Lu the court: "In their line of work… police officers are granted access to systems which contain sensitive or confidential information concerning members of the public.

"There is also the issue of the abuse of trust because the public provides the police with personal information with the belief that the information is used for police work only, not to be abused for personal or unrelated purposes."

Lim's bail has been set at $5,000, and he is expected to begin serving his sentence on Nov 10.

The cases involving Yong and Pham are pending.