In a textbook case of “revenge porn,” a 31-year-old Singaporean has been sentenced to 10 weeks in jail after telling his ex-girlfriend he planned to make her a “famous nude model,” then following through on that threat by sending naked photos of the woman to several of her friends.
But while the details meet all the criteria of the relatively newly recognized category of crime, the timing of the offense means the man, who is going unnamed to protect the victim’s identity, was not tried under the new revenge porn law passed in May, which still awaits its first test case.
The spurned lover will still be doing time under pre-existing statutes, however, after pleading guilty to two counts of transmitting obscene photos via electronic means to friends of his then-girlfriend, a 29-year-old Thai national, Yahoo News Singapore reported.
According to Today, the couple met online and began a long-distance relationship earlier this year, at which point he traveled to Thailand to meet in person.
While apart, they maintained their relationship through text messages, video calls and messaging apps like WhatsApp and Line. During some of the video chats, the woman would get undressed at the man’s request.
Without her knowledge or consent, the man took screenshots of her naked body on three occasions and stored them on his phone. Their relationship dissolved a month later after her then-boyfriend suspected he was being cheated on.
Today reported that the man sent a message over messaging app Line on Feb. 20, in which he threatened to make her a “famous nude model.” He then created a Facebook account with his ex-lover’s name in the profile, then sent screenshots of her face and genitalia to five of her friends who added the phony profile.
The victim lodged a police report at Marine Parade Neighbourhood Police Centre three days later.
According to Yahoo News Singapore, the man’s lawyer, Emily Koh, argued in court that the man had planned to marry the victim and while “devastated, emotional and angry” at his then-girlfriend’s alleged infidelity, is now apologetic for his actions. The lawyer added that the images were shared on “a small scale” with the woman’s friends and not made public.
In delivering his sentence, District Judge Jasvender Kaur called the man’s violation of the victim’s privacy “significant.”
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