Three Chinese nationals — Liu Yuqi (33), Huang Qin Zheng (37), and Yan Peijian (39) — have been sentenced to more than two years in jail for their roles in an organised cybercrime operation in Singapore.
The trio were recruited by Xu Liangbiao, a Ni-Vanuatu citizen now on the run, to conduct penetration attacks and data theft on websites of “interest”, which included government-linked domains in Australia, Argentina, Vietnam, and Kazakhstan.
Sophisticated Tools and State-Level Links
Singapore police arrested the men during a multi-location raid on Sept 9, 2024, uncovering a trove of remote access Trojans (RATs) and PlugX-related malware — the latter often associated with state-sponsored hacking groups.
Liu’s laptop contained a confidential email from Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, while Yan’s device held messages discussing vulnerabilities in several government servers.
A Web of False Identities
Investigations revealed that false work permits were used to bring the trio into Singapore, disguised as “construction workers” and “sales representatives.”
They operated out of a rented house in Mount Sinai, near Holland Road, where they conducted scans, gathered credentials, and exfiltrated sensitive data for Xu’s financial gain.
Xu reportedly paid the hackers in cryptocurrency worth US$3 million (S$3.9 million) shortly before the arrests.
Court’s Findings
Prosecutors described the group as “the main engine” of Xu’s illegal cyber operations. Although their attacks did not directly target Singapore systems, the scale of their work was “extensive.”
Defence lawyers called them “epic failures” who lacked technical expertise and achieved little actual success.
Sentences
- Liu Yuqi — 2 years, 4 months, 4 weeks
- Huang Qin Zheng — 2 years, 4 months, 1 week
- Yan Peijian — 2 years, 4 months, 1 week
All pleaded guilty to charges under the Computer Misuse Act and for participating in organised crime.
Source: Adapted from The Straits Times, Nov 5, 2025.
