Man, 22, gets jail for blackmailing married man who had affair with his girlfriend before they started dating
The married man gave him S$3,800 for his silence, but he asked the married man for another S$3,000 just a few days later.
Kerr Puay Hian
When a 22-year-old man found out his girlfriend was still texting her old sexual partner after they got together, he wasn't amused.
In fact, Lai Thin Soon became furious when he realised the man was twice his age and married.
Lai confronted the man, who offered S$3,800 for his silence. He accepted the money but subsequently blackmailed for more.
Lai received two months in jail instead after the man reported police.
Found out when he saw girlfriend's messages
According to court documents, Lai was a Malaysian working in Singapore when he started dating his girlfriend around November 2021.A few months later, on February 2022, he saw his girlfriend's WeChat messages and realised she was still texting a man.
He confronted her over who the man was.
She said he was a 46-year-old "friend" who worked as a fruit stall assistant near her workplace.
She also revealed that they had sex before.
Claimed he was his girlfriend's husband
Furious, Lai eventually confronted the man on Facebook. However, he didn't want to use his real account, so he created a new one with a fake name.Lai claimed he was his girlfriend's "husband" and was very upset about the "affair".
The man, who could tell Lai was agitated, apologised and offered to "settle the matter" by paying a S$3,800 compensation.
Married man offered to be punched once
Lai agreed and went to the man's fruit stall to pick up the cash on Apr. 14, 2022.The man was worried that Lai was still angry and offered to let Lai punch him once to vent.
Lai punched the man once in his stomach before leaving.
Over the next few days, Lai claimed he continued to "think about the sexual activity" between his girlfriend and the man and felt "a sense of anger".
S$3,800 not enough asked for another S$3,000
He contacted the man again on Apr. 18, 2022, to demand another S$3,000.When the fruit stall assistant said he had no more money, Lai threatened to tell his wife and family about the affair.
The fruit stall assistant felt he had no choice but to transfer another S$3,000 to Lai.
However, as Lai kept asking for money over the next few weeks, the fruit stall assistant reported him to the police.
Has a new girlfriend now and learnt his lesson
Lai Thin Soon pleaded guilty to a charge of criminal intimidation.According to Shin Min Daily News, Lai said in mitigation that he has a new girlfriend now and learnt his lesson.
He admitted threatening the fruit stall assistant but highlighted that he didn't expose the affair.
The prosecution asked for a jail term as Lai was over 21 years old when he committed the offence and the money he extorted was not a negligible sum, even though he is a first-offender.
The judge agreed that a custodial sentence is warranted and his young age was taken into consideration for his sentencing.
The judge also ordered Lai to return the S$3,000 to the fruit stall assistant.
