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Shadine Taufik · · 6 min readSingapore police issues warning to DealStreetAsia’s COO
The Singapore police has issued a stern warning on July 25 to Stephen Jacob, the COO of Nikkei Asia-owned online news and startup data platform DealStreetAsia (DSA), several sources tell Tech in Asia. The warning was for an offense under section 3 of the Computer Misuse Act.
An offense under this section of the act carries a maximum imprisonment term of up to seven years or a fine of S$50,000 (about US$36,000), or both.
Photo credit: Timmy Loen
In Singapore, a stern warning is served by the police to a person in place of prosecution after the conclusion of a criminal investigation.
While DSA confirmed that the warning was served to Jacob, they declined to comment further on the matter.
When Tech in Asia reached out to DSA’s parent firm Nikkei, a spokesperson said that the company is aware of the stern warning given, and “will strongly urge DealStreetAsia to ensure thorough compliance.”
The police action came after startup market research platform VentureCap Insights (VCI) filed a police complaint against Jacob last November for misuse of its services.
In October 2021, VCI also lodged a civil complaint against Jacob in the Singapore High Court, alleging that the COO conducted “data exfiltration” – also known as data theft – on the platform by using a fake account and sharing an account with various users.
It asserts that the VCI data was used in the creation of a competing product by DSA called Data Vantage. DSA has denied the allegation.
In a statement, DSA tells Tech In Asia that “there is no legal case between DSA and VCI.”
“Over one year has passed, and we’ve not heard from them. VCI has taken no subsequent action,” it adds.
Legal expenses aren’t the only things that are at stake for both companies in this dispute. VCI has attained a sizable customer base for its product, and it seeks to protect its gains against competition that it deems unfair.
As for DSA, Data Vantage may be a key stepping stone to help it reach profitability, given its widening losses between 2019 and 2020, according to public filings.
The fake George Roberts account
This dispute began when Jason Edwards, founder of VCI, noticed abnormal activity on the platform in March 2021, according to court documents reviewed by Tech in Asia.
Conflict from inception
DSA’s high burn rate
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COO Stephen Jacob received the “stern warning” for an offense under the Computer Misuse Act after VentureCap Insights filed a police report last year.
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