A Chinese national linked to a global cybercrime group has pleaded guilty in court on 26 Sept 2025.
39-year-old Zhang Qingqiao was previously arrested in Singapore on 9 Sept 2024 for his role in stealing personal data from individuals on South Korean gambling websites.
The syndicate then used the information obtained to promote online gambling.
For his crime, Zhang faced one charge of assisting two others in obtaining the information of other parties without their consent.
Source: aidanhowe on Unsplash, for illustrative purposes only
On 28 July 2023, Zhang — along with 42-year-old Chinese national Sun Jiao and 38-year-old Singaporean Lee Kok Leong — created a WhatsApp group chat called “Korea”.
Another individual, 36-year-old Clovis Leslie Lim, was later added to the chat.
According to court documents, Zhang had reason to believe that Sun could sell personal data, and Lim could use the contact information to promote other South Korean gambling websites.
Over a span of a week, Zhang provided two South Korean gambling websites from which Sun could extract personal data.
On 12 Aug 2023, Sun provided the data of 1,000 people to Lim, who wanted to use the information to run an illegal online betting operation.
Zhang also faced another charge for allegedly offering to buy the personal data of several Indian nationals from online gaming websites.
Zhang was arrested at his home in Cairnhill Road after an operation involving more than 160 officers was conducted islandwide.
Five other men were arrested in the operation, including Sun, three other Chinese nationals, and Singaporean Goh Shi Yong.
These men are believed to be linked to a global cybercrime group.
When Sun was arrested, five laptops, six handphones, S$24,000 in cash, and S$1.1 million in cryptocurrency were seized.
Meanwhile, authorities seized SS$465,000 in cash, four thumb-drives, an Apple Watch, and a crypto wallet during Zhang’s arrest.
Source: ISD
The prosecution sought a jail term of nine to 12 weeks for Zhang, citing the volume of personal information involved and the premeditated nature of the offence.
Zhang’s defence has argued for a S$10,000 fine, saying that he was merely a connector.
It was said that he received no benefit from the transactions and did not access the stolen data.
Zhang will be sentenced at a later date.
The other four Chinese nationals arrested in relation to the cybercrime group have been charged in a district court.
Also read: 4 Chinese nationals arrested after ‘scoping’ Bukit Timah homes for break-in
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Featured image adapted from aidanhowe on Unsplash and by MS News. Image on the left for illustration purposes only.