Poly student threatened to make ex-girlfriend an 'influencer' by leaking her nude videos, photos

SINGAPORE — When his relationship came to an end, a young man threatened to circulate hundreds of his ex-girlfriend's nude photographs and videos, taunting her by saying she would become an “influencer” as a result.

He then began stalking her through an online platform she was using for her school lectures until police investigations began.

On Wednesday (Aug 17), the Singaporean accused, now aged 22, pleaded guilty to unlawful stalking and two other charges of using threatening words to alarm the victim, 21.

He cannot be named due to a gag order to protect her identity.

A judge called for a report to assess his suitability for a mandatory treatment order, after a private psychiatrist diagnosed him with depression.

A mandatory treatment order is a community sentencing option offered to offenders suffering from mental conditions that contributed to the offence.

The couple began dating around April 2018 after meeting in a local polytechnic, the court heard. During the course of their relationship, the accused received or took more than 100 videos and photographs of the victim in a state of nudity.

She was also engaged in sexual acts with him in several of these videos.

They then fell out and broke up around December 2019.

Around then, they argued over messaging application Telegram, during which he revealed that he still had “almost 100” of her nude videos. At the time, she was under the impression that he had deleted all this material.

He told her that he would circulate the videos. He also said she had messed with the wrong guy and that she was “gonna be an influencer”, the court further heard.

On Dec 23, 2019, they had another argument over Telegram.

When she told him she was going to leave their chat, he sent her these messages: “I’m gonna leak ur nudes and make sure ur 2020 is amazing I have nothing to lose”, and “so leave”.

Court documents did not reveal her response, but several months passed and then he began repeatedly sending her unsolicited messages over the Microsoft Teams video conferencing application, which she was using to access online school lectures.

This took place from May 2020 onwards, during the circuit breaker period when movements and activities were restricted due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Schools had moved to online classes then.

By this point, the victim had blocked her ex-boyfriend on other social media platforms and had made clear to him that she did not wish to be in contact with him any longer.

But he continued sending her messages till July 2020, when she lodged a police report against him. These messages usually involved him attempting to guilt-trip her.

The prosecution did not object to a mandatory treatment order suitability report being called, but reserved its sentencing position till after the report is ready.

In mitigation, the accused’s lawyer, Mr Mark Yeo from Kalco Law, said that the offences were out of character and arose from a “combination of his youthful folly and his psychiatric condition”.

The youth deeply regretted sending the messages and never intended to spread his ex-girlfriend’s nudes, the defence counsel added.

Mr Yeo told the court that his client’s relationship with his victim was his first romantic one, and he firmly believed they would marry one day.

“Over time, he became extremely invested in the relationship and was emotionally dependent on the victim. He would often describe her as his 'everything' and his 'other half'.”

However, she broke up with him while he was abroad. He also found out that she had been cheating on him and became “overwhelmed with depressive feelings”, crying himself to sleep, Mr Yeo claimed.

“Unable to manage the pain of the heartbreak and loss of his first love, the accused regretfully sent threats to the victim amidst a heated argument… Notwithstanding, (he) recognises that he ought to have known better and is deeply remorseful for his actions,” the lawyer added.

Those convicted of stalking can be jailed up to 12 months or fined up to S$5,000, or both. 

Those convicted of intentionally causing alarm, harassment or distress under the Protection from Harassment Act can be jailed up to six months or fined up to S$5,000, or both.