Man posed as woman on Twitter using girlfriend’s erotic photo, told sad stories to scam man of S$9,000

• A 24-year-old man posed as a woman on Twitter to offer sexting services to another man
• The victim believed the accused’s persona of “Regina”
• Regina's profile photo was a topless image of the accused’s then-girlfriend
• The accused scammed the victim of nearly S$9,000 by making up stories about Regina’s financial difficulties
   

SINGAPORE — A man not only posed as a woman on Twitter and offered sexting services to another man, he also used his then-girlfriend’s topless photograph on the social media platform.

He managed to scam S$8,960 from his victim, now aged 29, by saying that “she” was in urgent need of money, threatening to publicly shame and blame the other man for forcing “her” to be homeless and starve to death.

On Thursday (Jan 21), the 24-year-old Singaporean man pleaded guilty to five charges.

These included cheating as well as distributing online an intimate image of his girlfriend, now aged 31, without her consent. The latter offence came into force a year ago as part of wide-ranging amendments to the Penal Code.

Another four similar charges will be taken into consideration for sentencing, which will be held on March 23.

He cannot be named due to a court order to protect his victims’ identities.

The court heard that the male victim was looking through Twitter in April last year when he came across an unknown new follower.

The accused, posing as a woman named Regina, had used an erotic profile photo showing a woman’s breast. He also used it in a public Twitter post.

His girlfriend at the time had sent him the photo of herself for his own viewing pleasure. She trusted that he would not share her intimate photos and was “distressed, shocked and angry” that he had betrayed her trust, the court heard.

VICTIM ‘FELT PITY’ FOR 'REGINA'

Attracted to Regina’s photo, the victim sent the offender a message, who replied and offered sexting services — sending phone text messages of a sexual nature — that included pictures and videos. This would cost S$200 for 48 hours of the service.

The victim initially declined because he could not afford it, saying that words, videos and pictures may not be enough for him. The man replied that he might “get lucky” and get more than that.

The victim eventually gave in and transferred S$200 to the offender’s DBS bank account. He then received the man's personal mobile number to stay in contact.

Over text and Twitter messages, the accused told the victim Regina’s sad life story, including details of her financial debt, the possibility of loan sharks disseminating her nude photos and videos, health issues and her broken family.

During their chats, he also sent the victim another photo of an unknown nude woman.

Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) M Kayal Pillay told the court: “The accused also professed that Regina loved (the victim). Through their conversations, the victim eventually fell for the persona. He also felt pity for Regina and wanted to assist her in her difficulties as he cared for her.”

Over 14 transactions from April 4 to May 17 last year, the victim transferred almost S$9,000 to the accused, who sought money for false reasons such as paying hospital bills and rental fees.

The victim had borrowed money from his retired father on some occasions to make the payments.

For some of the transactions, the accused gave his father’s bank account details to receive the money. He also got his father's permission to withdraw money from the account.

This was because the accused's girlfriend was safekeeping his debit card at the time due to his gambling issues and he could not withdraw money from his own account. The father was not aware that the son was receiving money from the victim.

TOOK PHOTOS OF BEDOK POLICE DIVISION HQ

On May 18 last year, the victim refused to lend the accused more money.

DPP Pillay said: “The accused — still posing as Regina — became angry and unhappy, and threatened to publicly shame and blame the victim for allegedly forcing her into being homeless and starving to death. The accused also claimed that he wanted to commit suicide.”

Afraid of his threats, the victim decided to make a police report two days later.

The next day, the accused was called to the Bedok Police Division headquarters for investigations.

Despite clear signage that he was not allowed to take photographs there, he surreptitiously snapped five shots including one of the common corridor leading to the interview rooms.

He claimed that he wanted to show his girlfriend that he was there. The photos were only discovered during a forensic examination of the phone.

For distributing an intimate image, the accused could be jailed up to five years, fined, caned, or any combination of the three.

For unauthorised photography in a protected place under the Infrastructure Protection Act 2017, he could be jailed up to two years or fined up to S$20,000, or both.