A Huttons property agent is the second person to be charged for offences relating to the Do Not Call (DNC) requirements under the Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA) which took effect on 2 January 2014.
In a statement, the Personal Data Protection Commission (PDPC) said it had received complaints about unsolicited telemarketing messages advertising residential developments allegedly sent by the agent to Singapore telephone numbers that were registered with the DNC Registry.
The agent will be charged in the State Courts on Wednesday and faces up to 27 counts of contravening section 43(1) of the PDPA, relating to the obligation to check the DNC Registry before sending any telemarketing messages to Singapore telephone numbers.
According to the Commission, the real estate sector makes up about 47 percent of complaints pertaining to DNC related offences.
Leong Keng Thai, Chairman of the Commission said: “Telemarketers looking to promote their products or services to individuals with Singapore telephone numbers must abide by the DNC provisions.
“It is a frustrating experience for individuals who have registered their numbers with the DNC Registry to continue receiving unsolicited telemarketing messages, and the PDPC will take enforcement action against those who continue to ignore the rules.”
So far, the Commission has investigated more than 3,500 valid complaints against various organisations, while investigations into some 1,700 other complaints are still ongoing. These organisations are from sectors such as property, private education and retail.
Back in August, Star Zest Home Tuition and its director, Law Han Wei, were the first offenders to be fined $39,000 each. Both the agency and Law faced a total of 26 counts of contravening section 43(1) of the PDPA with 48 other similar offences taken into consideration.
Meanwhile, around 4,500 organisations have registered to check Singapore telephone numbers against the DNC Registry in order to comply with the DNC provisions.
Any person or organisation found guilty of the offence of sending unsolicited telemarketing messages to Singapore telephone numbers without checking the DNC Registry can be fined up to $10,000 per message sent.
Romesh Navaratnarajah, Singapore Editor of PropertyGuru Group, wrote this story. To contact him about this or other stories email romesh@propertyguru.com.sg
