Published: Tuesday November 12, 2013 MYT 5:26:00 PM
Updated: Tuesday November 12, 2013 MYT 5:28:57 PM
Malaysian police help nab Singaporean "The Messiah" who hacked Singaporean government website
BY TAN YI LIANG
PETALING JAYA: A Singaporean hacker calling himself the "The Messiah" was arrested in Kuala Lumpur last Monday for hacking into a Singaporean government website over two weeks ago - from a Kuala Lumpur apartment.
He was charged in a Singaporean court on Tuesday.
Singaporean police tipped of their Malaysian counterparts who swooped in on "The Messiah", 35-year-old James Raj Arokiasamy, in Dorchester Apartments in Sri Hartamas on Nov 4.
James Raj, who had been on the run over three drug offences allegedly committed in 2011, was handed over to the Singaporean police on Nov 5.
On Tuesday he was charged for hacking into the Ang Mo Kio Town Council website on Oct 28 as well as for the drug offences.
If found guilty of the charges under Singapore's Computer Misuse and Cybersecurity Act, he could be fined up to $10,000 and jailed up to three years, or both.
James Raj, who is currently being remanded at the Institute of Mental Health is also believed to be involved in other cyber intrusions, including that of The Straits Times’ blog site and the People’s Action Party (PAP) Community Foundation and City Harvest Church’s co-founder Ho Yeow Sun’s websites.
Singapore’s The Business Times reported that James Raj had been remanded for two weeks beginning Tuesday for psychiatric evaluation after he disclosed he had been prescribed Ritalin for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), borderline personality disorder, suicidal tendencies and depression.
He was told to turn up in court on Nov 26.
According to the Straits Times on Nov 2, Singapore went on high alert after an attack on a blog on The Straits Times website in the early hours of Nov 1 and a video uploaded by Anonymous on Oct 31 on YouTube.
Anonymous referred to "The Messiah" and three hacking attacks - on the Ang Mo Kio Town Council website, the PAP Community Foundation website and Sun's official website in the video which ran for three minutes and 42 seconds.
