Thursday, January 18, 2007
Network theft lands kid in trouble
In what is fast becoming the a major problem in the 21st century a teenager has been sentenced to a 18 month good behavior bond and no Internet because he was stealing bandwidth from networks in his neighborhood. Garyl Tan Jia Luo, who reportedly suffered from an online gaming addiction, had his Internet connection confiscated by his parents when they became concerned about the amount time the young man was spending online. According to police reports, Mr Lou then started cycling around his neighborhood with his laptop trying to find an unsecured wireless network to successfully tap into. Mr Lou was confronted by a nieghbour who called the police and he was charged last November with illegally accessing an unsecured wireless network. The crime carries a maximum jail term of three years in Singapore, however, District Judge Bala Reddy imposed the $5000 18 month good behavior bond with no Internet and ordered treatment for the young man and recommended a more structured environment. In sentencing the judge also recommended that Mr Lou look into doing his national service as soon as possible.
