Man fined S$4,000 for harassing, threatening woman after she ended their extramarital affair

• Ritchie Richard Li Qingping and his victim, who was also married, broke off contact in 2018
• She had found out that his wife knew about their affair
• In August 2020, Li started harassing the victim
• He sent her many text messages that included a photo of her on a hotel bed when they were together

SINGAPORE — A 40-year-old man, who incessantly sent phone text messages to a woman who broke off contact after they had an extramarital affair, was on Thursday (Sept 30) fined S$4,000 for harassment.

Ritchie Richard Li Qingping pleaded guilty to one charge of making threatening communication with the intention to cause harassment to the 41-year-old victim, who cannot be named due to a court order to protect her identity.

In sentencing Li, District Judge Koo Zhi Xuan took into consideration another charge of possessing eight obscene films.

The court heard that Li and the victim were both married to other people and seeing each other from 2016 to 2018. She cut off contact with him after finding out that his wife knew about their affair.

Around Aug 18 last year, Li started to constantly send her text messages over WhatsApp even though she did not reply. He also called her but she did not pick up.

Three days later, he sent her a photograph of her on a hotel bed, which had been taken when they were having sex. He then wrote, “Just sharing what (my wife) has seen”, asking the victim to meet him and why she did not want to be together with him.

She rejected his advances and told him to look after his family.

On Sept 1 last year, he then threatened her in a text message: “Will go find you if you continue to ignore.” She replied by asking him not to text her again, adding: “I really need peace.”

Despite this, Li told her: “Peace is earned. I will continue to text and call.” He then persisted in sending more messages but she did not reply further.

After two more days, he sent her vulgar messages about her sexual activity. Again, she did not reply.

Li continued to send her more messages until Sept 13, when she told him to stop contacting her and to focus on his children.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Goh Yong Ngee told the court that she explicitly told him that she was frightened by his actions but he persisted till two days later when he was arrested.

The victim did not block Li on WhatsApp because she was afraid that he would look for her at her home or workplace. She also quit her new job, and was concerned about an intimate video taken while they were still in the midst of their affair.

In mitigation, Li’s lawyer, Ms Cheryl Sim from Regent Law, said that he was truly remorseful and fully co-operated with the authorities during investigations.

She added that he was “under immense stress” at the time of his offences as his wife was considering starting divorce proceedings.

“The accused was overwhelmed with feelings of confusion, frustration and betrayal when the victim decided to bring their friendship and romantic relationship to an end. He never intended to cause any real harm to the victim but merely wanted to elicit a response out of desperation,” the defence counsel told the court.

Li has vowed never to repeat his actions and has accepted the victim’s decision to end their relationship. He has also offered to compensate the victim, Ms Sim said.

“The accused has suffered immense stress due to the length of (court) proceedings, seeks to move forward in life and is hopeful about salvaging his marriage,” she added.

Li could have been jailed for up to six months or fined up to S$5,000, or punished with both.