Over 10 offers To Pay Student Hacker’s Fine

Friday, 2nd November 2007

Posted by Lester Chan at 03:25 in Blog, Current Affairs

29 Responses
4,133 views

SERIOUSLY, WTF IS WRONG WITH SINGAPORE, helping to pay fine for someone that has committed a crime and he is not even a Singaporean nor a PR. I seriously don’t give a flying fuck if he is from RJC or scored 2394863280948034 As for his exams, he committed a crime and he should be responsible for his action.

CHINESE undergraduate Zhao Ke, fined $15,000 for hacking into his former school’s computer network, has received “over ten” offers to help pay his fine.

At least two law firms here, including Allen & Gledhill, have also offered to help him appeal the sentence.

The 21-year-old who is doing a double degree in engineering and economics on a National University of Singapore scholarship, met up with lawyers from Allen & Gledhill on Wednesday.

While he has yet to make a final decision, with the fine settled “there was no big need to appeal and I need to catch up on my studies,” he said.

Zhao hacked into Raffles Junior College computers in March to find out his classmates’ A-level scores. He was caught while copying data from a teacher’s computer.

Zhao, who came to Singapore in 2002 to do his O-levels and stayed on since, had just received his results two weeks prior to the incident. He scored four As, two distinctions and a merit for his “S” papers, extra-hard papers reserved for top students.

His request for probation was denied, and Zhao was fined $15,000, payable in $1,000 monthly instalments.

He had initially indicated, through his lawyer, that he would be able to pay the fine from his tuition earnings.

But he later told The Sunday Times that he was unable to pay the full sum and would have to go to jail for five weeks to offset the fine by $5,000.

Following that, several people contacted The Straits Times to offer to pay Zhao’s fines.

So far, there have been “over ten” offers to either pay the entire fine, or part of the fine, Zhao told The Straits Times.

He is currently in discussion with one donor to tutor his children in return for paying off the fine.

Another, a doctor in his 40s who declined to be named, said he wanted to help because what Zhao did was “not a crime”.

“Yes, he made a mistake, but he should not have to go to jail for it,” he said.

Even as offers to help streamed in, online users are taking a harder line.

Many Netizens on sites like HardwareZone, for instance, said that Zhao’s NUS scholarship should be terminated and the money be given to Singaporeans instead.

The NUS has convened a Board of Discipline to look into Zhao’s case.

When news that an anonymous donor had offered to pay Zhao’s fine broke on Wednesday, Netizens also slammed those offering to help him, saying that they should look closer to home if they wanted to help.

Source: Over 10 offers to pay student hacker’s fine

Discussion: Hardware Zone Forums

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Comments

http://www.lesterchan.net/layhiang sleepy

any idea how he hacked? HACKING seems a beri big word which didn’t describe the process…
http://www.shaunchng.com Shaun

Even if he committed a crime, it’s more of a tech showcase of how low Singapore can be in criminalizing their people. So it may be something planned, possibility people want to support and give our authorities here a slap in the face how we run the judical system here.
http://www.lesterchan.net/ GaMerZ

sleepy: For some reasons, he guess the admin password then use the admin password to get a list of users from the computer and then use a password cracker to crack the encrypted password from the list.

Shaun: I doubt the average student out there will get the same treatment as this elite.
http://wayne-tesutarossa.blogspot.com Tai^Zhi

If im not mistaken, he actually surf the net to research on the tools hot to hack into the system. I think he already have the INTENSION to commit such crime and should be punished according to the Laws of IT in Singapore…. (what we studied in POLY)… i think smart people really “eat full nothing to do”. Why can’t they used their “brains” to do something useful to the world… I look down on him. Chey.
http://www.lesterchan.net/ GaMerZ

He should be just deported back to Cheena.
http://hiang1211.blogspot.com sleepy

i think it is not easy to prove a person’s mens rea. but this case, the intention of committing is quite clear. rottan him…
http://decayonnet.blogspot.com DK

Well… unless there is T&C, I don’t see why anyone wanna help him.
Maybe they got another computer that they want to heck? hahaha
http://www.lesterchan.net/ GaMerZ

DK: I think those ppl who help him maybe from the same country or what publicity.
http://khazampc.com khairul neezam

I think it’s pretty simple. He committed a crime and should be punished for it.
http://300688.blogspot.com jazel

blessing in disguise?!?!?!
Han

He did some junior mischief of the sort bright kids do. So what?

Violent psychopathic crime and kid-experiment crime don’t compare qualitatively — perps of the first do chronic violence, while the latter disproportionately become innovators and ideas-men. Society doesn’t want to snuff out all creativity.

I suspect Lester’s a bit jealous… he’s here doing stellar work while this less-accomplished black hatter’s getting attention and funds.

I think it’s pretty simple. He committed a crime and should be punished for it.

The type of law broken matters, as well as punishment heft.
Han

I should add that I’m a U.S. citizen (New Yorker, though currently in Beijing) and U.S. kids get away with this sort of stuff all the time. It’s technically illegal, but unless they access a sensitive government network or do major, malicious damage, it’s not a police matter.

Over there, in a case like this the kid might be expelled from the school, and that’s absolute max. Usually he’ll face some minor, meaningless school discipline proceedings.
http://meaningfulstory.blogspot.com/ mingfu

Four As, two distinctions and a merit for his “S” papers and with a Singapore scholarship of double degree… Seriously I doubt an average student out there would get the same treatment as him… =(
http://meaningfulstory.blogspot.com/ mingfu

so unfair hor…
WWW

The UGLY singaporean – what is all this bull**** about the nationality of the student?!!! How does this bear on his alleged crime? Would it make us feel better if he is Singaporean?
http://www.lesterchan.net/ GaMerZ

WWW: The problem is he is in OUR country committing a crime and people PAY for his fine. I wonder if an average Singaporean will get the same treatment. Talk about Foreign Talent (FT).
Han

If you’re opposed to immigration, that’s fine. Same with scholarships for non-nationals. I agree on both counts, generally. (Personally, I think Singapore lets in far too many people. It’s giving the country away for nothing. Same in the U.S., for that matter.)

But!!!, if a country wants immigrants this kid’s a better lottery draw than the next guy. And if private citizens donate their money that way, so what? Parking excess wealth in a promising new generation is what old, moribound greybeards like to do.
gavman

I question our juidiciary, our scholarship selection process and Foreign talent policy.
This kid came here on a scholarship. He received pocket money, board, lodging and tuition fees. What has he done to deserve all this ? Our kids do not get such handouts. Yes, handouts. We are going to get means tested for medical and yet we are citizens.

I also question the ST reporter, Mavis Toh’s objective when she published the article that brought attention to this convicted Felon. If not for her, there would not be any offers to pay his fine. What now? this felon is going to end up collecting more money than his fines ! what then ? Bet you he is going to pocket the excess. What a travesty of justice. Shows that CRIME DOES PAY. Is this the right message? YOur comments Mavis Toh of the ST ….
http://www.lesterchan.net/ GaMerZ

Han: I agree with you that Singapore is letting too many people in
gavman: nicely said.
Han

Gav: Merit within the nation deserves funding. Your objection is to his foreigness only.

The real problem is mass immigration. Immigration gifts a nation’s wealth to foreigners, ceteris paribus. I’m afraid your Singporese government has been *tricked* — yes, that’s a strong word meaning the involvement of deliberate, malice deception — into giving the country away.

I have read that Lee Kuan Yew or whoever plans to import ~1.5 million foreigners over the next 15 years. In practice, this will mean the end of Singapore, its wealth given to foreigners.

Whenever my website is up it will contain a complete economic and Darwinian analysis of immigration, including a full accounting of costs.