Bank Employee Exploited Access to View Confidential Information of Politicians, Influencers, and Others

A 39-year-old assistant vice-president at OCBC Bank, Au Jia Hao, has been sentenced to 10 weeks in prison after he pleaded guilty to accessing confidential customer information without authorisation. Au, employed in the bank’s Global Commercial Banking division, used his position to view the personal and financial details of 369 customers over a period of eight months, from November 2022 to July 2023.

Au, who was granted access to the bank’s system as part of his job, exploited this access for personal curiosity. He reviewed sensitive information, including account balances, contact details, and employment histories, of numerous individuals, including Singaporean politicians and influencers, as well as his colleagues, friends, and family. However, there was no evidence that he disclosed this information to anyone else.

His actions went undetected until August 16, 2023, when OCBC’s risk and prevention department flagged his unauthorised access of a senior employee’s details. Au resigned from the bank in July 2023 but continued accessing the system until the end of that month. Following an internal investigation, he was dismissed from his position in September 2023.

In court, Au’s lawyer presented his client’s personal struggles with depression and mental health issues, highlighting that he was a father of two young children and had expressed remorse for his actions. Despite this, District Judge Wong Peck emphasised the severity of Au’s abuse of trust and his exploitation of the position he held.

For his crime, Au faced a potential sentence of up to two years in prison and a fine of S$5,000. The Straits Times has reached out to OCBC Bank for additional comments on the case.