SINGAPORE — A 30-year-old man who allegedly tried to blackmail a 19-year-old woman with pictures of her performing indecent acts has been arrested.

The man had allegedly contacted the teenager via social media, purporting to offer her a job. After convincing her to perform indecent acts in front of a webcam, the man allegedly took photographs of the acts without her knowledge and used the photographs to blackmail her for money.

The victim made a police report yesterday (Oct 15).

Police officers from Tanglin Division managed to establish the identity of the man after extensive investigations and arrested him on the same day at about 11.15pm.

The man will be charged in Court tomorrow for an offence of Attempted Extortion under Section 385 of the Penal Code, Chapter 224. If convicted, he faces a jail term of between two and five years, and shall also be punished with caning.

The police advised members of the public to be aware of such scams and exercise caution when befriending strangers on the Internet.

The police also advised the public not to agree to any request that may put them in a vulnerable position, such as performing compromising acts in front of a webcam and providing personal details to other Internet users.

Members of the public should inform the police immediately if anyone tries to extort money from them.