He thought girlfriend was cheating on him, so he vowed to make her a ‘famous nude model’

SINGAPORE — Growing suspicious that his long-distance girlfriend was unfaithful to him, he created a Facebook account under her old name.

Using the account, he took revenge on her by sending screenshots of her face and private parts to her friends. He had taken the photos without her knowledge during video calls when she stripped for him.

On Monday (July 8), the 31-year-old Singaporean man, who cannot be named to protect his victim’s identity, was sentenced to 10 weeks’ jail. His ex-girlfriend is a 29-year-old Thai national.

He pleaded guilty to two charges of transmitting obscene photos by electronic means, with another three such charges considered during sentencing.

The court heard that the pair met online and began a long-distance relationship on Jan 7 this year. The man also travelled to Thailand, where his victim lived, to meet her.

They kept in contact through phone text messages, phone calls, and video calls on the messaging platforms WhatsApp and Line. During some of their video calls, she would take off her clothes at his request.

Without her knowing, he took screenshots of her on three occasions and stored them in his mobile phone for his personal use. They broke up a month later.

On Feb 20 this year, he told her over Line that since she liked being a model, he would make her a “famous nude model”.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Asik Sadayan told the court: “He then created a Facebook account with the profile name ‘XXX Photos’, as ‘XXX’ used to be the victim’s name before she changed it.” 

The man then sent three screenshots to the woman’s friend through the Facebook account, as well as to her god-brother through Line.

She made a police report at Marine Parade Neighbourhood Police Centre three days later.

In mitigation, his lawyer Emily Koh said that the two were “in a serious romantic relationship” and had plans to get married, even viewing houses together in Thailand. He was “devastated, emotional and angry" at her infidelity.

He is supporting his parents and his son from a previous marriage, the lawyer added.

Even then, District Judge Jasvender Kaur said that the man's offences were a significant violation of his victim’s privacy.

For transmitting obscene photos by electronic means, he could have been jailed up to three months, fined, or both.