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8 Info. & Comm. Tech. L. 5 (1999)

handle is hein.journals/infctel8 and id is 1 raw text is: Information & Communications Technology Law, Vol. 8, No. 1, 1999 Computer Misuse Law in Singapore ASSAFA ENDESHAW Nanyang Business School, Nanyang Avenue, Singapore 639798. email: aendeshaw@ntu.edu.sg ABSTRACT Adapted from the UK's Computer Misuse Act 1990 from which it borrowed three types of offences (mere unauthorized access, access with ulterior motive and modification of the contents of a computer), the Singapore Computer Misuse Act 1993 (CMA) boasted innovative features of its own: intercepting a computer service, abetting of offence, the making of a compensation order against the wrongdoer, and, until recently, admissibility of evidence. The CMA has been tested in the courts with increasing regularity. This Article seeks to review the impact of that law. Section 1 presents the conceptual basis of the law with a view to throwing light on some of the inconsistencies and difficulties unveiled in practice. Section 2 summarises the scope of CMA. Section 3 examines the recent amendments to the law. Section 4 then traces developments in the application of the CMA. The Conclusion summarises the experiences in Singapore in combating computer misuse and the attempt to modernise the law for that purpose. It suggests further pointers for reform in light of the shifting nature of the problem of computer misuse and the necessity of continuous adjustment of the law. Introduction The range of activities that might be considered 'computer misuse' has been expanding in Singapore, just as everywhere else. On the one hand, as Mr Peter Chan, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Home Affairs of Singapore, revealed in his speech at a January 1998 seminar on 'INFO Security 98: IT Security Is Everyone's Responsibility', 'From four cases of unauthorized com- puter access in 1996, it has risen to 27 cases in 1997.' On the other hand, new forms of 'computer misuse' have arisen in the last few years in connection with computer networks and the attempt of subscribers to use the Internet in particular as a means of downloading information (some of which may not be legally acceptable in Singapore), or accessing foreign sites for illegitimate pur- poses. An early instance of the 'misuse' of Internet connection was a discovery, supposedly without opening the relevant files but by looking at their sizes and names alone, of pornographic material downloaded by a user of Technet, a network dedicated to research and academic establishments in Singapore.2 The National Science and Technology Board, which funded and oversaw Technet, reportedly commented that it was not its 'policy to authorize the opening and reading of users' personal mail and files on Technet resources, nor will it do so itself.'3 A similar case was the downloading from the Internet and possession of obscene films by a former personnel manager (by the name of Lai Chee Chuen). Apparently, he had been collecting such films since the 1970s and used the 1360-0834/99/010005-29 @ 1999 Taylor & Francis Ltd 5

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