A former employee of United Overseas Bank (UOB) has been sentenced to one year and 24 weeks in jail after leaking confidential information belonging to more than 1,000 customers to scammers.
According to The Straits Times report, Cao Wenqing, a 31-year-old Chinese national and Singapore permanent resident, was convicted in October 2025 following a trial where she was found guilty of multiple offences, including 14 counts of misusing a computer system.
Her sentence was delivered on March 10.
At the time of the offences, Cao worked as a junior officer in UOB’s mortgage department. Her role gave her access to the bank’s customer database, which contained sensitive information such as names, nationalities, identification numbers, addresses, bank balances and account numbers.
The system was meant to be used only for work purposes, including assisting customers with mortgage services.
According to court documents, Cao was contacted in March 2021 by two individuals who claimed to be Chinese police officers. They introduced themselves as “Xiang Ying Dong” and “Captain Lu”. Although court records did not specify what they initially told her, Cao later agreed to assist them voluntarily.
Under Lu’s instructions, Cao searched the bank’s database for customers believed to be Chinese nationals. She filtered records using common Chinese surnames and reviewed customer profiles to identify those who matched the criteria. She then copied their personal details, including names, identification numbers, phone numbers and bank balances, into a spreadsheet.
Cao took photographs of the spreadsheet and sent the images to Lu through WhatsApp before deleting them. She also carried out searches on specific customers whenever the individuals requested it.
Court documents stated that Cao was fully aware she was only allowed to access the database for legitimate work duties and that she was required to keep customer information confidential. Despite this, she continued providing the information.
Cao eventually realized she had likely been deceived. On April 22, 2021, she filed a police report and was arrested the same day.
During earlier court proceedings, Deputy Public Prosecutor Ryan Lim said Cao followed Lu’s instructions because she believed she was under investigation by Chinese authorities and felt pressured to cooperate.
However, prosecutors noted that she knew her actions were against both the bank’s policies and Singapore law.
The court ultimately ruled that her deliberate misuse of the bank’s system warranted a custodial sentence.
Her bail was set at S$30,000 on March 10, and she is expected to begin serving her sentence on March 16.
Image via Google
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