Even photocopy ic can be misused.

Tue, May 13, 2008 The New Paper I regret being so naive

HE trusted a friend who claimed he could help him get a bank loan easily and at a lower interest rate. Mr Sanmuga Many Sanmugam, 35, almost paid a high price for being naive and trusting. Not only did he not get the loan, but he ended up having two maids employed under his name - without his knowledge. His personal details were misused by someone after he handed over photocopies of some documents and his SingPass password to his friend. The photocopies ended up with maid agencies, to process work-permit application for two maids. His SingPass was used to access his CPF account online to pay the foreign worker levy. CURIOUS The sales executive's problems began after he sold his four-room HDB flat in Woodlands in January. As he needed a bank loan to buy another flat, he approached a friend for help. 'I had never applied for a bank loan before and I thought my friend could help me,' said Mr Sanmuga. 'He said he knew someone working in a bank who could help me get a loan easily and at a lower interest rate.' His friend told him he needed copies of his personal documents and Mr Sanmuga gave him everything, including his wife's identity card, their marriage certificate and even copies of their three children's birth certificates. His friend also asked Mr Sanmuga for his SingPass - the password for online transactions with government agencies - so he could check his Central Provident Fund (CPF) account balance for the bank loan application. 'I was curious why he needed even the birth certificate copies of my children, but he said it was necessary for the bank to know my family's background,' said Mr Sanmuga. 'I was reluctant to hand over my SingPass, but he told me to trust him.' Mr Sanmuga said he had known this friend and his family for a year and had visited his home, also in Woodlands. 'I thought everything was all right since I knew where he lived. I was naive to trust him with my personal information,' he said. He became suspicious when a month passed and it became increasingly difficult to contact his friend. Finally in late January, after much hounding, his friend told him the bank had refused his application. Mr Sanmuga demanded back the copies of his personal documents, but his friend did return them. 'I quickly changed my SingPass and checked my CPF account, and I was relieved to find the balance was correct,' he said. 'But alarm bells went off in my head when he continued to make excuses not to return the documents,' recalled Mr Sanmuga. His worst fears came true when he went back to his previous flat to collect mail and found an acknowledgement from the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) for the receipt of a banker's guarantee of $5,000 for a foreign domestic worker. On the letter was the name and address of a maid agency, Best Home Employment Agency. He called the agency, and was told someone called 'Geena' had employed a maid on his behalf, using copies of his documents. 'I was upset. How could the maid agency allow a third party to apply for a maid under my name without my signature, with no verification?' After his complaint, the agency agreed to cancel the employment of the maid. He said his attempts to reach his friend on the phone failed, and he could not meet him either. Mr Sanmuga then lodged a police report to state that he had never applied for a maid, and that he had given his friend his personal particulars. But he was shocked to receive another letter dated 6 Feb from the MOM asking for outstanding payment of the foreign worker levy. Then came yet another letter - from the CPF Board, the fee collection agent for MOM - informing him that his inter-bank Giro for the domestic foreign worker levy had been approved. But the bank account on the Giro application did not belong to Mr Sanmuga. When he went to the CPF Board, another shock awaited him. He found out from an officer that a second maid was employed under his name. 'I was angry and frustrated. The situation was worse than I had thought,' said Mr Sanmuga. On 31 Mar, two more letters from the MOM informed him of a 'change of address' for the two maids hired under his name. Next, Mr Sanmuga received a payment advice from the CPF Board, indicating someone had paid the levy in March. The final straw was another letter from the CPF Board approving the Giro application for the second maid. He went back to the CPF Board. After explaining the matter and handing over a copy of his police report, he was shown a copy of the original application form. The application had been made using his name, but the bank account holder was one of the maids hired under his name. 'The application form had her full name, her bank account number, her handphone number and even her thumbprint,' said Mr Sanmuga. He made a second police report. On 16 Apr, he called the maid's number and convinced her to meet him at Woodlands MRT station. 'I explained that I had been cheated and that she had been hired under my employment without my consent and knowledge,' he said. 'She said she was living in Toa Payoh with her boyfriend, a Singaporean, but refused to disclose the exact location,' he said. 'I told her it was illegal for her to do that since she had been hired under my name, and persuaded her to meet my wife and me to discuss a way to resolve the matter.' She agreed and Mr Sanmuga called the police. When the maid showed up, Mr Sanmuga handed her over to the police. The next day, he received a call from a woman identifying herself as the maid agency owner. 'She kept insisting on meeting me to settle the matter personally, but I refused,' he said. He lodged another police report when she repeatedly SMSed him and called him on his handphone. The police confirmed the three reports and said investigations are on. The MOM is also investigating the employment agencies involved in the two maids' foreign worker permit applications. 'I regret being so naive to give my personal information and my SingPass to someone I thought was my friend,' he said. 'I want the public to learn from my bad experience. I thought I could save time and money, but I ended up wasting a lot more time and energy trying to get myself out of this mess.' 'I was curious why he needed even the birth certificate copies of my children, but he said it was necessary for the bank to know my family's background. I was reluctant to hand over my SingPass, but he told me to trust him.' This article was first published in The New Paper on May 11, 2008.