Singapore hair salon worker gets 6 weeks’ jail for spending over S$1K of customers’ CDC vouchers

SINGAPORE: A former hair salon employee who abused customers’ trust by stealing and spending their Community Development Council (CDC) vouchers has been sentenced to six weeks’ jail after admitting to the offences.

The 31-year-old woman secretly forwarded voucher redemption links from two customers’ mobile phones to her own device while helping them set up payment methods. She later spent a combined S$1,167 of their CDC vouchers at supermarkets, retail shops, and food outlets.

The woman pleaded guilty to one count of criminal breach of trust and one charge under the Computer Misuse Act. Two similar charges were also taken into consideration during sentencing. The court also ordered her to compensate both victims or serve an additional nine days in jail if she failed to pay, Channel NewsAsia (CNA) reported (July 22).

Customers trusted her with their phones

At the time, Phang Koh Xing worked as a customer service consultant at Yun Nam Hair Care’s Ang Mo Kio Hub outlet. Part of her job involved helping customers set up payment methods on their mobile phones. She has since resigned.

The first victim, a 60-year-old woman, visited the salon on August 1, 2025, for a hair treatment. While helping her arrange Shopee instalment payments, Phang accessed the woman’s text messages, found her CDC voucher redemption link and forwarded it to her own phone.

Over the next three days, she used the vouchers in nine transactions worth S$575 at NTUC FairPrice, Sheng Siong, an optical shop, a department store and several food outlets. The victim discovered the unauthorised spending and lodged a police report on Aug 4, 2025. Phang didn’t repay her.

A second victim lost more CDC vouchers days later

Just over a week later, another customer, aged 31, handed her phone to Phang for help setting up payments through the Atome app.

Phang repeated the same method. She accessed the customer’s text messages, forwarded the CDC voucher redemption link to herself and spent S$592 across seven transactions between August 9 and August 11, 2025. Purchases included visits to a salon, NTUC FairPrice, Sheng Siong, Venus Beauty and a department store.

The second victim reported the unauthorised transactions to the police on September 2, 2025. Phang later made a voluntary repayment of S$200.

Trust made the offences more serious

Deputy Public Prosecutor Ronnie Ang said the offences were serious because the customers had entrusted Phang with their phones for assistance, and she exploited that trust to gain access to their CDC vouchers.

The prosecution sought a jail term of between six and eight weeks, together with compensation for the victims, and the judge agreed.

The Computer Misuse Act offence carries a maximum penalty of up to 10 years’ jail, a fine of up to S$50,000, or both. Criminal breach of trust carries a maximum sentence of up to seven years’ jail, a fine, or both.

CDC vouchers are intended to help households with everyday expenses and support local businesses. Cases like this can make people think twice before handing over their phones, even for routine help.

Businesses whose staff regularly handle customers’ devices also have a strong reason to reinforce ethical conduct and protect the trust placed in them.