SINGAPORE: A man threatened to circulate his ex-girlfriend’s nude videos, telling her that she was “gonna be an influencer” and he had “nothing to lose”.
After they broke up, the man also stalked the woman on Microsoft Teams for months when she blocked him on other social media platforms.
He pleaded guilty on Wednesday (Aug 17) to two charges of making threats that caused his ex-girlfriend alarm, and one charge of stalking.
The man, now 22, cannot be named to protect the identity of the victim, who is covered by a gag order. She was 19 at the time of the offences.
The judge called for reports to assess the man’s suitability for probation or a mandatory treatment order, which directs an offender suffering from certain treatable psychiatric conditions to receive psychiatric treatment.
The man suffered from depression and anxiety at the time, according to his defence lawyers Mr Mark Yeo and Ms Chloe Chen of Kalco Law.
The court heard that the man and his ex-girlfriend met in school and got together in April 2018. They fell out and broke up around December 2019.
During their relationship, the man took or received from the victim more than 100 videos and photos of her in various states of undress. Several of the videos showed them having sex.
In late 2019, the couple got into an argument on Telegram. The victim was then under the impression that the man had deleted the revealing videos and photos of her
But during the argument, the man told the victim he had “almost 100” of her nude videos and threatened to circulate them.
He also told her she had “messed with the wrong guy”, said Deputy Public Prosecutor Benedict Teong.
The man repeated a similar threat during another argument on Telegram on Dec 23, 2019, when the victim said she was going to leave their chat group.
“I’m gonna leak your nudes and make sure your 2020 is amazing,” he said in a message to her.
The man sent these threatening messages with the intention of causing alarm to the victim, said Mr Teong.
From May to July 2020, the man also harassed the victim with frequent unwelcome messages on Microsoft Teams, which she used to access her school lectures.
The man’s messages usually involved him trying to guilt-trip his ex-girlfriend, said the prosecutor.
By that time, the victim had blocked the man on other social media and made clear to him that she did not want to have contact with him anymore.
The offender will return for sentencing in October.
The punishment for using threatening words to cause alarm is up to six months’ jail, a fine of up to S$5,000 or both.
The offence of stalking carries a penalty of up to a year’s imprisonment, a fine of up to S$5,000 or both.
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