Former Astro employee Nora Idayu Jaafar, 49, was sentenced in Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday to 4 years in prison on each of 731 charges after she pleaded guilty to tampering with the pay TV firm's database. The sentences will run concurrently from the date of sentencing. [1, 2, 3]
The Sessions Court proceedings took about five hours because all 731 charges were read out before the plea was entered. The court heard that the alleged misconduct involved converting 731 regular customer accounts into corporate accounts using two user IDs registered under her name. [1, 2, 3]
The offences were said to have taken place at Astro's office at Menara Icon on Jalan Tun Razak in Kuala Lumpur and involved the company's AMDOCS Customer Relationship Management system and Enterprise Data Warehouse. The charges were brought under Section 5(1) of the Computer Crimes Act 1997, which carries a maximum fine of RM100,000, jail of up to 7 years, or both. [1, 2, 3]
Nora's lawyer asked the court to order the prison terms to run concurrently, saying she had a clean record and suffers from bipolar disorder. The lawyer also said the offences were linked to domestic pressure and financial strain after her marriage in 2013, including her former husband's compulsive gambling. Prosecutors said the offending was sustained and planned over a long period. [1, 2, 3]
Court records said Nora began working at Astro in 2003 and that the unauthorized account conversions were alleged to have run from Oct. 30, 2013, to Aug. 20, 2020. The court sentenced her on 2026-05-13, after the guilty plea. [1, 2, 3]
