‘Baited’, then sold: Telegram group circulating nude images of S’pore men

The recipient was listed as a woman with an Indonesian phone number. ST’s attempts to get through were successful only via text.

After asking if the person had the same name as the one listed on the payment page, the person deleted the chat and blocked the phone number that ST used.

Meanwhile, the group’s administrators have been advertising its library of content on social media platform X.

The X account, set up in March, had more than 8,100 followers as at April 30. X’s location feature showed the account is based in South-east Asia.

The administrators had set up another account at least a year ago, but checks showed it was suspended for violating X’s rules, although the exact violation was not stated.

Based on the social media platform’s guidelines, posting sexually explicit images or videos of a person without consent is strictly prohibited.

It notes that “this content poses serious safety and security risks for people affected and can lead to physical, emotional, and financial hardship”.

The unlawful circulation of obscene photos and videos on Telegram involving Singaporeans has happened before, with the most prolific case involving a group called SG Nasi Lemak.

It charged $30 for admission, and at its peak, had more than 44,000 members, with 29 administrators.

The group mostly dealt in intimate photos and videos of Singaporean women, and four suspects were arrested in October 2019.

Two of them – aged 18 and 20 at the time of sentencing – were given a year’s probation.

A 39-year-old man, who was an admin, was given nine weeks’ jail and fined $26,000, while the last suspect, a 27-year-old, was sentenced to mandatory treatment for a year.

Ms Harjeet Kaur, a senior associate in the criminal litigation team at law firm Withers KhattarWong, said victims of this latest group should file a police report immediately.

“Early intervention is the most effective means of limiting further distribution and preserving the best prospects of pursuing the perpetrators through the available legal channels,” she said.

Ms Harjeet said, however, that victims who are unaware of their photos and videos being circulated would have no legal recourse.

She added that even if the perpetrators are based overseas, Singapore can still exercise jurisdiction over them, such as in cases where the victims are based here.

Enforcement, however, is the bigger challenge, owing to the need for cross-border cooperation and especially if the perpetrators have taken steps to cover their tracks.

Labelling these cases as a type of scam that combines sexual exploitation and financial crime, Ms Harjeet said they are “especially effective” in weaponising victims’ sense of fear and shame. This, in turn, discourages them from coming forward.

“Victims should be reassured that coming forward is both the right course of action and the most effective means of protecting themselves and preventing others from falling prey to the same scheme.”