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Woman who chanted gang slogans on TikTok to earn virtual gifts pleads guilty in court
Nur Syafiqa Abdullah pleaded guilty to one count of acting as a member of a secret society. ST PHOTO: KELVIN CHNG
Shaffiq Alkhatib
Court Correspondent
Updated
Sep 06, 2024, 09:01 PM
SINGAPORE – A woman posted videos of herself chanting gang slogans on TikTok in 2023, hoping to gain attention and earn money from virtual gifts.
Posing as a secret society member, Nur Syafiqa Abdullah, 22, posted four such videos between May and July 2023. Each clip was later played between 270,800 and 499,200 times by Aug 17, 2023, a day after the police were alerted to them.
Separately, she also rode a rented motorcycle even though she did not have a licence to do so.
On Sept 6, she pleaded guilty to one count of acting as a member of a secret society. She also admitted to two traffic offences.
Three other charges will be considered during sentencing.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Thaddeus Tan told the court that Nur chanted a gang slogan in her Sengkang flat during her first live streaming in May 2023.
She committed a similar offence in her home the following month and during this second live streaming, she received various virtual gifts which she exchanged for US$63.66 (S$83).
The prosecutor said: “Encouraged by her past success, the accused decided to post another video of herself in July 2023 as she felt bored and wanted to attract attention and to earn more money... The accused recorded a video of herself outside (an East Coast Park eatery reciting a gang chant).”
Later that month, Nur recorded yet another such video while she was on the Slingshot Singapore thrill ride at Clarke Quay.
On Aug 16, 2023, a man lodged a police report, stating that she was advocating for secret societies on TikTok. Nur was arrested eight days later, on Aug 24.
She was released that same day, only to reoffend on Dec 12, 2023, when she rode a male companion’s rented motorcycle in the Kaki Bukit area.
This offence came to light when a Traffic Police officer in the vicinity stopped her and found that she did not have a riding licence.
She was later charged in court in April 2024.
On Sept 6, the court called for a report to assess her suitability for probation and she will be sentenced on Oct 24.