Man jailed for stealing MOH laptops meant for Covid-19 work
Laptops that were issued to the Ministry of Health (MOH) for its officers to manage the Covid-19 pandemic were instead stolen and sold on Carousell.
Muhammad Fakhrurradzi Mohamed Omar was sentenced to 11 months' jail yesterday after pleading guilty to three charges of theft.
The court heard that Fakhrurradzi, 25, had stolen 21 laptops belonging to MOH between Dec 16 last year and Jan 14 as he was in need of money.
He was working for an agency engaged by technology company NCS and had been deployed to the MOH office at HarbourFront Centre to reformat the laptops, his lawyer Marina Sani said.
The stolen laptops, which were collectively worth around $33,400, were issued to MOH by the Ministry of Finance.
Fakhrurradzi made a total of $6,380 from selling most of them through online marketplace Carousell.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Pearly Ang said he would take a few laptops each time he accessed the storage room so as not to raise suspicion.
He sold the laptops to three buyers he had shortlisted from Carousell.
MISSING
His offences came to light when MOH's chief information security officer discovered that the laptops were missing after a check.
The officer lodged a police report on Jan 15.
The police recovered only two laptops upon his arrest.
In sentencing him, district judge Marvin Bay said the court took a very serious view of the theft of government property as it was paid for with taxpayers' money and the laptops were intended for use in MOH's Covid-19 operations.
He noted that there was premeditation involved as Fakhrurradzi did not take a large number of laptops in one go but several devices each time.
"There would also be cyber-security concerns given that Government-issued laptops will end up in the hands of outsiders," he added.
Fakhrurradzi could have been jailed for up to seven years and fined for each theft charge. - THE STRAITS TIMES
Get The New Paper on your phone with the free TNP app. Download from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store now
