SINGAPORE: A 23-year-old man was on Tuesday (Jun 7) jailed for 12 weeks for threatening to upload nude videos of his ex-girlfriend whom he owed money.
The man cannot be named as it could lead to the identification of the victim, who is protected by a gag order. She is in her early 20s.
He pleaded guilty to one count of threatening to distribute intimate images and recordings of the woman without her consent.
The pair were in a relationship from 2018 to 2021. The victim had been lending the man money to repay his debts and continued to do so after they broke up in January last year.
In July last year, the man agreed to gradually repay the victim in monthly instalments. According to her, he owed more than S$12,700 as of December last year.
On Dec 10, 2021, the victim sent the offender a text message regarding payment for the month, which he had not made. They started arguing and the man said he would not repay the victim from then on.
He said if the victim posted about him online, he would also make an online post about her and threatened to upload images and recordings that showed her nude and partially nude.
He then sent her two recordings of her in the shower and seven images of her in her underwear. The victim’s face could be seen in the recordings and some of the images.
The man said that the victim had willingly lent him money and whether he wanted to return it was “his business”, court documents stated.
The victim was shocked to see the images and recordings, which had been taken without her consent.
During their relationship, the man had entered the toilet once or twice while the victim was showering and waved his phone around, but the victim had told him not to take any photos.
The woman felt afraid and distressed as she believed her ex-boyfriend would act on his threat, court documents stated. She made a police report that evening.
After a few days, the man deleted the images and recordings. When police later screened his electronic devices, one of the images was found on his phone. He had not uploaded any of the materials online.
The prosecution asked for three to four months’ jail, arguing that the man committed the offence out of malice and that it was an attempt to blackmail the victim into giving up her debt claims.
The man could have been jailed for up to five years, fined, caned or any combination of these punishments.
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