The victim was so distressed at the repeated harassment from anonymous accounts set up to threaten her that she suffered a panic attack and suicidal thoughts.
Warning: This report contains references to suicidal ideation.
SINGAPORE: While chatting with a woman on a dating app, a man received intimate videos from her that he knew were meant to be private.
However, after they stopped talking, the man created anonymous accounts online to demand more videos from the woman – threatening her five times in a single month.
The woman was coerced into sending another intimate image of herself, but was later distressed to the point of suffering a panic attack and having suicidal thoughts.
Terrell See Jun Jie, 25, was sentenced to 38 weeks’ jail on Tuesday (Aug 13) for his crimes.
He pleaded guilty to three counts of threatening to distribute intimate recordings, with another two charges taken into consideration.
THE CASE
The victim, whose identity is protected by a gag order and whose details were redacted from court documents, met See on a dating app.
Sometime in 2021, while the pair were communicating on the app, the victim voluntarily sent See two intimate videos of herself.
One video clearly depicts her face, and the clips were sent with the common understanding that they were for See’s viewing only and not meant to be distributed.
The victim later stopped talking to See for reasons not mentioned in court papers.
However, in June 2022, See wanted more intimate videos or images of the victim and decided to use the two videos he already had to threaten the victim.
See created a Telegram account which did not bear his identifiers and sent the victim the two intimate videos of herself, threatening to distribute them if she did not send him more.
Not knowing that the person contacting her was See, the woman initially blocked the account on Telegram, but was anxious and scared that the person would distribute her videos online if she did not reply.
The woman then unblocked the account and complied with the threat by sending a naked photo of herself, with her face partly blocked by her phone.
On Jul 13, 2022, See created a new Telegram account to demand more material from the victim.
The victim again did not know who was contacting her, but guessed that it was the same person who had threatened her.
She begged him to stop, but See continued with his threats. Afraid and distressed, the victim stopped replying.
After this, See created an Instagram account and sent the victim a naked photo of herself, knowing she would understand this to be a threat.
The woman guessed that it was the same person who had been threatening her and lodged a police report on Jul 17, 2022.
Undeterred, See obtained an international phone number from a paid app and used this create a WhatsApp account. He threatened the victim on Jul 20, 2022.
That same day, he used a different WhatsApp account and threatened the woman. He said if she blocked him, she would be “trended” online, and that he would spread her details and those of people related to her if she did not reply.
VICTIM TAKEN TO HOSPITAL
The victim lodged a second police report. After this, she suffered a panic attack and was taken to hospital by ambulance.
She was treated at the Institute of Mental Health for a panic attack and active suicidal ideation, following the harassment she had received.
The prosecutor sought nine to 11 months’ jail for See, noting the “serious distress” suffered by the victim that the “criminal desire” See harboured for intimate material for his own sexual gratification.
The prosecution said See had “weaponised” the videos he was originally given, and his offences were “highly planned and premeditated”.
“With each offence, the accused used a different messaging platform, mobile number and or account, behind which he hid anonymously,” said the prosecutor, adding that See had even gone to the extent of buying an international mobile number.
He said there was a degree of cruelty in See’s actions.
The prosecutor stressed that it was not mitigating that there was no eventual distribution of the explicit material – if there had been, it would have constituted a separate offence.
Defence lawyer Mr N Divanan from Phoenix Law asked for a total of 28 to 32 weeks’ jail instead, saying his client had created the accounts to “reconnect” with the victim.
He said creating the Instagram and Telegram accounts did not involve a degree of sophistication. He added the victim would subsequently have had at least a strong suspicion that the person contacting her was See since the images sent to her were only privy to her and See.
The lawyer said the reason his client had to create subsequent accounts was because he was blocked.
For threatening to distribute intimate recordings, See could have been jailed for up to five years, fined, caned, or given any combination of these punishments.
Where to get help:
Samaritans of Singapore Hotline: 1767
Institute of Mental Health’s Helpline: 6389 2222
Singapore Association for Mental Health Helpline: 1800 283 7019
You can also find a list of international helplines here. If someone you know is at immediate risk, call 24-hour emergency medical services.