Teen posted nude videos, photos of cousin online to embarrass her

SINGAPORE — Unhappy with his younger cousin for allegedly mocking and embarrassing him in front of his family and friends, the teenager secretly took and posted nude videos and photos of her online in an act of tit for tat.

On Wednesday (Aug 1), the 19-year-old full-time national serviceman pleaded guilty to two charges of insulting the modesty of a woman and transmitting obscene material.

District Judge Eddy Tham called for a probation suitability report for the teenager, who cannot be named due to a gag order to protect his victim’s identity. He will be sentenced at a later date.

The court heard that around December 2016, he was unhappy with his teenage cousin and decided to make her feel the same level of humiliation he had felt by recording and uploading photographs and videos of her in the nude. It was not stated why or how she had embarrassed him.

First, he downloaded an application to his mobile phone, which activates the phone’s camera when motion is detected. He even paid for an upgraded version of the app to record high-definition quality videos.

Then around the same month, he took a video and six photographs of the victim — who is now 17 — showering. It was not stated how and where he did so.

The court also heard that on June 18, 2017, when he was visiting her home, he placed his mobile phone in a compartment under her kitchen toilet window, and activated the app, to catch her showering.

Even though she found his phone in the toilet after she was done with her shower, she returned the mobile to him without suspecting anything. But he had successfully recorded one video and two photos of her in the nude.

Two months later, on Sept 3, 2017, the teenager uploaded two videos — captioned with her name and school — and eight photographs — captioned with her name — on the website Tumblr.

He also posted on other online platforms. By the time he was caught, he had uploaded at least three nude videos and 10 nude photos of her.

The victim was alerted to his offences when an unknown person contacted her on Sept 12 via the messaging app Snapchat, and informed her he found her after seeing nude photos and videos of her online.

Realising that the offensive material had been taken in her home, she then recalled the incident where she found her cousin’s mobile phone in the toilet.

On the same day, her brother confronted the accused, who admitted he was the culprit. He also removed the material and deleted his online accounts.

The victim lodged a police report on Sept 13, 2017 at 12.30am.

In mitigation, the teenager’s lawyer, Mr Peter Keith Fernando, said his client has “demonstrated utmost shame and regret for what he has done”.

“He has made no excuses for his actions ... he wants to apologise to the victim for the embarrassment he’s caused her, and promised he will not repeat his offences,” Mr Fernando added.