SEVEN former employees of Citibank were hauled to court yesterday and charged with taking their clients information before leaving to join rival UBS.

The bulk of the 1,223 charges laid against the bankers are under the Computer Misuse Act (CMA) for unauthorised access to data held in Citibank's computer servers.

The seven, who handle accounts of wealthy clients, are said to have acted in three separate groups.

Prosecutors allege that after accessing the bank's computers without authority, some sent the data, in the form of spreadsheets, to their personal e-mail addresses.

Others are accused of printing out the information.

The charges date to between February and July 2006.

The accused include relationship managers Low Siok Liang, 33; Wendy Quek Lien Lien, 30; Jelene Lee Kit Peng, 34; Esther Lim Siew May, 31; and Lydia Koh Meng Yang, 28.

Also in the dock were bank manager Jonathan Seah Thiam Heng, 44, and service relationship manager Valarie Lim Ming Huey, 29, who is Low's assistant.

Low faces the most charges - 262 counts under the CMA, one count under the Penal Code for destroying evidence, and one count under the Banking Act for disclosing customer information.

Valarie Lim faces 260 charges under the CMA and one charge of destroying evidence.

Seah faces 80 charges under the CMA, Lee 239, and Esther Lim and Koh 188 each. Quek faces three charges, including one under the Banking Act.

This is believed to be the first time that such offences involving a bank have come before the courts.

Left: Jonathan Seah Thiam Heng, 44 Faces 80 charges under the CMA. He was the bank manager in charge of the accused relationship managers.

It is also understood to be the first prosecution under the Banking Act for disclosing customer information.

Yesterday's court appearance for the seven, who are represented by different lawyers, followed investigations by the Commercial Affairs Department that lasted more than a year, the court heard.

Separately, Citibank took civil action against all except Quek.

The lawsuit was settled out of court for an undisclosed sum. During arguments over bail, some of their lawyers said the settlement had hurt their clients financially.

Some lawyers also noted that the number of charges seemed great, but many are linked to a single e-mail that contained a raft of personal data.

District Judge John Ng granted the seven bail of between $10,000 and $40,000 each.

The case is fixed for a pre-trial conference on Feb 25.

The maximum punishment for unauthorised access under the CMA is a $100,000 fine and 20 years in jail.

Above: Wendy Quek Lien Lien, 30 Faces three charges, including one under the Banking Act.	Esther Lim Siew May, 31 Faces 188 charges under the CMA.	Valarie Lim Ming Huey, 29 Faces 260 charges under the Computer Misuse Act (CMA) and one charge of destroying evidence.

• Low Siok Liang, 33
  Faces 262 counts under the CMA, one count under the Penal Code for destroying evidence, and one count under the Banking Act for disclosing customer information
• Jelene Lee Kit Peng, 34
  Faces 239 charges under the CMA
• Lydia Koh Meng Yang, 28
  Faces 188 charges under the CMA