ST Dec 20, 2006
Wi-Fi thief pleads guilty
17-year-old piggybacked on neighbour's network
By Chua Hian Hou
THE 17-year-old youth charged with illegally 'mooching' on a home wireless network admitted the offence yesterday - and promised not to do it again.
Taking him up on that, District Judge Bala Reddy asked Garyl Tan Jia Luo, who left Republic Polytechnic about two months ago, if he was willing to enlist for national service early as a way to stay out of mischief.
Tan agreed, after which Judge Reddy called for a pre-sentence report.
This report may lead to probation for Tan, which would spare him from having a criminal record. Historically, the courts have never offered probation to people convicted of computer-crime cases.
News of Tan's case first broke last month when The Straits Times reported that he had become the first person here to be charged with accessing an unsecured wireless network.
This practice has been dubbed 'wireless mooching'.
Tan, neatly dressed in a white polo shirt, was in the community court yesterday.
He pleaded guilty to the activity, an offence under the Computer Misuse Act.
According to Deputy Public Prosecutor Toh Shin Hao's presentation to the court, Tan had been feeling bored one night seven months ago and badly wanted to surf the Internet.
But his mother had locked up his modem to stop him from spending too much time online.
So, the tech-savvy youth took his notebook computer outside his Casuarina Walk home, to find an unsecured wireless network on which he could mooch.
His computer located one such network nearby and he was spotted surfing by a neighbour who was driving past.
Suspicious of what Tan, sitting by the roadside at 3am, was doing with his computer, the neighbour confronted him.
This culminated in an argument, after which the neighbour called the police.
Tan's lawyer, Mr Sam Koh, said the young man was 'deeply remorseful' over his 'foolish and immature' actions.
He also asked for a minimum fine for Tan, which Judge Reddy turned down, asking if Mr Koh really wanted Tan to have a criminal record at such a young age.
If Tan were fined, he would have a criminal record.
That was when Judge Reddy asked Tan about the enlistment possibility.
Judge Reddy had - when sentencing a 21-year-old to jail for illegally distributing MP3 music files earlier this year - noted that probation was an unsuitable punishment in computer crime cases, as it left defendants at a loose end, which could lead to them re-offending.
By calling for this report, it appears that Judge Reddy is considering probation for Tan, coupled with an early enlistment to make sure he does not re-offend.
Speaking to reporters later, Mr Koh said he had asked for a fine for Tan on his family's instructions.
Tan could have faced penalties of up to three years' jail and a $10,000 fine.
[email protected]
