6 days ago
Singapore charges Indonesian traveller with stealing 250,000 KrisFlyer miles to buy pastries and phone at Changi Airport
SINGAPORE, May 29 — An Indonesian man has been charged in a Singapore court for allegedly using over 250,000 KrisFlyer miles from other people's accounts to go on a shopping spree.
Rizaldy Primanta Putra, 28, faces four charges under the Computer Misuse Act, news agency Channel News Asia reported today.
'I intend to claim trial to the charges,' he was quoted as saying during a virtual appearance in court.
His bail was set at S$15,000 (RM52,600).
Citing from court documents, the news agency reported Rizaldy was accused of using 4,672 KrisFlyer miles on June 8, 2024, to buy S$31.15 (RM110) worth of items at Bugis Junction through a KrisPay wallet linked to an account that was not his.
Less than two weeks later, on June 21, he allegedly spent another 245,491 KrisFlyer miles — from a different stolen account — to buy goods worth S$1,636.61 (RM5,730) at Changi Airport.
He faces two additional charges for illegally logging into those accounts via the Kris+ app.
Singapore police said Rizaldy had purchased access to the compromised accounts online while he was overseas.
He then flew to Singapore in June 2024, where he allegedly used the stolen miles to buy pastries in Bugis and a phone and phone case at Changi Airport.
The offences only came to light in October 2024, when Singapore Airlines lodged a police report after spotting suspicious redemptions flagged by retailers.
By that time, Rizaldy had already left Singapore in September 2024.
He was identified as a suspect following investigations that included reviewing CCTV footage.
He was arrested at Changi Airport on January 11 upon returning to Singapore.
If convicted of causing unauthorised modification of computer material by using others' KrisFlyer miles, he faces up to three years in jail, a fine of up to S$10,000 (RM35,000), or both.
For each charge of accessing someone's account without authorisation, he could be jailed for up to two years, fined S$5,000 (RM17,500), or both.
