Man tried to link woman to porn video by posting her pictures; victim later propositioned for sex on Telegram
www.channelnewsasia.com
SINGAPORE: A man who felt a "fear of missing out" as a member of a Telegram channel that shared sexual content decided to upload photos of a woman he had met once through a dating app together with a sex video.
The sex video had nothing to do with the woman, but Don Weng Kai Jun, 23, wanted to insinuate that the victim and the woman in the sex video were the same person.
This was after Weng saw that the victim had a similar manicure to the woman in the pornographic film.
As a result of his posting, users of the Telegram channel - which had 25,390 members at that time - found the 21-year-old victim's contact details, and four to five men propositioned her for sexual services.
Weng, then a Navy regular, pleaded guilty on Tuesday (Sep 12) to one charge of making an insulting communication likely to cause harassment, and one charge of transmitting obscene material.
The victim, a business developer, cannot be named due to a gag order to protect her identity.
The court heard that Weng and the victim became acquainted through dating app Bumble in November last year. They met for dinner but stopped contacting each other later. Neither party experienced any dispute or disagreement.
Weng was a member of a Telegram channel where members shared sexual content. However, he had until then only consumed content without posting.
On Feb 3 this year, Weng was watching porn on a website when he saw a video featuring the back view of a woman engaged in a sexual act. Her face was not visible.
"The female subject in the video reminded the accused of the victim, as the female subject in the video and the victim both had white-painted nails," the prosecution said.
Weng then accessed the victim's Instagram account and saved five photos of her, three of which featured her face fully.
He posted the victim's photos and the obscene video - which was more than a minute long - to the Telegram channel, giving the false impression that the victim and woman in the video were the same person.
The prosecution said: "The accused claimed to have done what he did because he had a 'fear of missing out' for not contributing to the Telegram channel. The accused knew that his actions would cause others to have the misconception that the victim was the person in the video."
A friend of the victim - who was also in the same channel - told her about the video, sending her a screen recording of the message and the sender's Telegram username, which she recognised as belonging to Weng.
A week after the obscene material was posted, the victim asked Weng why he had sent her photos and the video to the channel, but Weng did not reply. He then deleted the video, photos and his Telegram account.
"Other members of the Telegram channel subsequently identified the victim and provided her Telegram contact information," the prosecution said. Four to five strangers messaged the victim on Telegram asking whether she was the person in the video, and how much would it cost to have sex with her for a night.
The victim made a police report on Feb 16 this year, stating: “My photos (were) tagged to a leaked porn tape online on a Telegram channel ... But the person in the leaked tape wasn’t me. I only met the guy once for dinner, his name is Don Weng, and he works in the Navy as a regular."
She also made a post on Instagram to clarify that she was not the person in the video.
Weng was called up by the police on Mar 8 this year and he then realised the severity of the matter. He messaged the victim, admitting what he had done and apologised.
He added that there was no evidence to show how many members of the Telegram group had seen the media, nor was it the case that 25,000 copies of the media were produced.
But District Judge Prem Raj pointed out that the photos and video had been left on Telegram for a week.
The judge then referred to a portion of the mitigation which stated that Weng was from the Navy and that any jail term would affect his future.
The judge told Mr Foo: "I'm a little bit troubled by how the offence is characterised as a moment of misguided playfulness. Your client is an adult.
"I'm not too sure how this can be viewed in any sense as playful."
He questioned why Weng had not simply uploaded the video without the photos, if he had "feared missing out".
Instead Weng had visited the victim's Instagram page, obtained her photos and then uploaded both the video and photos to Telegram, showing premeditation, the judge pointed out.
In response, Mr Foo said that he would redact the relevant portion from his mitigation, and that his client is "wracked with remorse" at his lapsed judgment.
Weng will return to court for sentencing on Oct 19.
For making an insulting communication, Weng may be fined up to S$5,000 (US$3,672).
For transmitting obscene material, he may be jailed for up to three months, or fined, or both.
www.channelnewsasia.com
SINGAPORE: A man who felt a "fear of missing out" as a member of a Telegram channel that shared sexual content decided to upload photos of a woman he had met once through a dating app together with a sex video.
The sex video had nothing to do with the woman, but Don Weng Kai Jun, 23, wanted to insinuate that the victim and the woman in the sex video were the same person.
This was after Weng saw that the victim had a similar manicure to the woman in the pornographic film.
As a result of his posting, users of the Telegram channel - which had 25,390 members at that time - found the 21-year-old victim's contact details, and four to five men propositioned her for sexual services.
Weng, then a Navy regular, pleaded guilty on Tuesday (Sep 12) to one charge of making an insulting communication likely to cause harassment, and one charge of transmitting obscene material.
The victim, a business developer, cannot be named due to a gag order to protect her identity.
The court heard that Weng and the victim became acquainted through dating app Bumble in November last year. They met for dinner but stopped contacting each other later. Neither party experienced any dispute or disagreement.
Weng was a member of a Telegram channel where members shared sexual content. However, he had until then only consumed content without posting.
On Feb 3 this year, Weng was watching porn on a website when he saw a video featuring the back view of a woman engaged in a sexual act. Her face was not visible.
"The female subject in the video reminded the accused of the victim, as the female subject in the video and the victim both had white-painted nails," the prosecution said.
Weng then accessed the victim's Instagram account and saved five photos of her, three of which featured her face fully.
He posted the victim's photos and the obscene video - which was more than a minute long - to the Telegram channel, giving the false impression that the victim and woman in the video were the same person.
The prosecution said: "The accused claimed to have done what he did because he had a 'fear of missing out' for not contributing to the Telegram channel. The accused knew that his actions would cause others to have the misconception that the victim was the person in the video."
A friend of the victim - who was also in the same channel - told her about the video, sending her a screen recording of the message and the sender's Telegram username, which she recognised as belonging to Weng.
A week after the obscene material was posted, the victim asked Weng why he had sent her photos and the video to the channel, but Weng did not reply. He then deleted the video, photos and his Telegram account.
"Other members of the Telegram channel subsequently identified the victim and provided her Telegram contact information," the prosecution said. Four to five strangers messaged the victim on Telegram asking whether she was the person in the video, and how much would it cost to have sex with her for a night.
The victim made a police report on Feb 16 this year, stating: “My photos (were) tagged to a leaked porn tape online on a Telegram channel ... But the person in the leaked tape wasn’t me. I only met the guy once for dinner, his name is Don Weng, and he works in the Navy as a regular."
She also made a post on Instagram to clarify that she was not the person in the video.
Weng was called up by the police on Mar 8 this year and he then realised the severity of the matter. He messaged the victim, admitting what he had done and apologised.
JUDGE DISPUTES DEFENCE'S CHARACTERISATION OF OFFENCE
Weng's lawyer Foo Cheow Ming said that this was not a case where there was "commercial profiteering".He added that there was no evidence to show how many members of the Telegram group had seen the media, nor was it the case that 25,000 copies of the media were produced.
But District Judge Prem Raj pointed out that the photos and video had been left on Telegram for a week.
The judge then referred to a portion of the mitigation which stated that Weng was from the Navy and that any jail term would affect his future.
The judge told Mr Foo: "I'm a little bit troubled by how the offence is characterised as a moment of misguided playfulness. Your client is an adult.
"I'm not too sure how this can be viewed in any sense as playful."
He questioned why Weng had not simply uploaded the video without the photos, if he had "feared missing out".
Instead Weng had visited the victim's Instagram page, obtained her photos and then uploaded both the video and photos to Telegram, showing premeditation, the judge pointed out.
In response, Mr Foo said that he would redact the relevant portion from his mitigation, and that his client is "wracked with remorse" at his lapsed judgment.
Weng will return to court for sentencing on Oct 19.
For making an insulting communication, Weng may be fined up to S$5,000 (US$3,672).
For transmitting obscene material, he may be jailed for up to three months, or fined, or both.
