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Married man harassed mistress who broke up with him, fined $4,000
Wan Ting Koh
·Senior Reporter
Thu, 30 September 2021, 6:37 PM
A man in a hoodie using a phone. (PHOTO: Getty Images)
SINGAPORE — A married man who kept harassing his mistress after she cut off contact with him was fined $4,000 on Thursday (30 September).
Ritchie Richard Li Qingping, 40, kept sending the married mistress, 41, offensive and disturbing messages, despite the latter asking him to focus on his children. The woman eventually resigned from her new job in fear of Li’s harassment.
Li pleaded guilty to one count of making insulting or threatening communication, with one count of possessing eight obscene videos considered for his sentencing. The woman cannot be named to protect her identity.
The pair had an extramarital affair that lasted from 2016 to 2018. The victim cut off contact with Li when she found that Li’s wife had discovered the affair. Li has two children aged nine and 10.
Around 18 August last year, Li began sending incessant text messages to the victim, even when the latter did not respond. Li also called her, to no avail.
On 21 August last year, Li sent the woman a photo of her on a hotel bed, which was taken when they were having sex. He said that he was “just sharing” what his wife had seen.
Li then asked the woman to meet him and asked why she did not want to be with him. The victim rejected his advances and told him to look after his family, according to the prosecution.
On 1 September last year, Li threatened to find her in person if she continued to ignore him. She pleaded with him through text to not contact her again as she needed peace. Li replied, “Peace is earned. I will continue to text n (sic) call.”
A few days later, when the woman failed to reply to his messages, the man suggested that she was having sex with someone. He also described her as a lustful person.
He continued sending her texts until 13 September when she replied to stop contacting her and focus on his children.
“(She) explicitly told the accused that she was frightened by what the accused was doing. The accused disregarded the complainant’s pleas and persisted in his harassment until 15 September 2020, when he was arrested,” the prosecution said.
The woman did not block Li’s contact, as she was afraid that he would look for her in person. She quit her new job out of fear. She was also concerned about an intimate video recorded while they were still having the affair.
Li’s mobile phone was seized for investigations.
In mitigation, Li’s lawyer, Cheryl Sim, said Li had been under immense stress as his wife was considering divorce.
“The accused was overwhelmed with feelings of confusion, frustration, and betrayal when the victim decided to bring her friendship and romantic relationship to an end,” said Sim.
Li “never intended to cause any real harm to the victim but merely wanted to illicit a response out of desperation,” she added. He no longer intends to contact the victim and has offered her compensation.
For the charge of making threatening or insulting communication, Li could have been jailed up to six months, and/or fined up to $5,000.
