A MOMENT of indiscretion from a yearning for fame has returned to haunt a young man's future.

It has led to obscene e-mail messages, and it threatens to break his parents' hearts and tarnish his future.

For Dexter (not his real name), the first hint of trouble came when he received a call from his friends, last September, informing him that certain 'indiscriminate' pictures of him taken years ago were splashed on the Internet.

The photographs portrayed him in various poses, including those where he was fully naked.

As if that was not enough, someone allegedly impersonated him and sent an e-mail to the press stating that he was troubled by his nude pictures and appealed for help. Included in the e-mail was a link to the photos.

The smear campaign happened just weeks after Dexter signed up for the Manhunt Singapore contest.

The Manhunt preview is at The Heeren at Orchard Road today, with the finals happening tomorrow.

A model in his 20s, Dexter is one of the 15 Manhunt finalists.

The incident has caused him much distress and anxiety and he has since lodged a police report over the false e-mail. The police confirmed this and said investigations are ongoing.

An e-mail signed off with Dexter's name, along with his mobile number, was sent to The New Paper last Wednesday. Dexter denied sending any such e-mail.

He admitted to posing nude for a jeans ad campaign two years ago. It was a freelance job, he said, adding that he regretted doing so after the shoot.

'I had not wanted to take part in the (Manhunt) contest because I was afraid this matter would get blown up,' he claimed.

'I felt self-conscious every time I walked down the runway during rehearsals. I felt as if a lot of guys were looking at me and talking about me. It made me nervous,' he said.

But his manager had convinced him to take part despite knowing about the nude photos.

The manager, who declined to be named, said: 'He made a mistake. That was in the past. Everyone makes mistakes, but they should be allowed to move on.'

'I told him to join because he has the look, the style, and the physique,' he added.

Dexter said the nude shots were taken by an Australian photographer in a hotel room.

He claimed that he had agreed to the shoot initially because the photographer had told him it was a trial shoot for an ad campaign for a brand of jeans.

Dexter said: 'He told me he wanted me to front the ad campaign.'

Dexter claimed that the photographer had offered him $1,800 for the shoot. He had thought it was to shoot him wearing jeans.

Midway through the shoot, Dexter claimed the photographer asked him to remove his clothes.

'I didn't want to,' Dexter said. 'I was uncomfortable and reluctant. I got suspicious. I told him I did not think it was necessary since the ad was for jeans.

'He offered to increase the fee for the shoot to $4,000,' he said.

Dexter succumbed to the promise of fame. 'I thought it was my big break,' he said.

ATTRACTIVE PAY

The money was also tempting, he admitted.

He had started working as a freelance model in 2004. On average, he gets between $300 and $400 for a four-hour photoshoot.

He said the photographer paid him after the one-hour shoot. He did not ask for any pictures or negatives.

Neither did the photographer ask him to sign a model release form.

Such a form gives the photographer the rights to use the pictures.

'I regretted when I got the money,' Dexter said. 'I was partially happy, but I felt it was not the right way to earn it.'

He did not tell anyone about the shoot. The next day, the same photographer called him again and asked him to do another shoot.

When Dexter declined, he claimed that the photographer turned nasty.

'He threatened me by saying that if I didn't agree, he would post my pictures on his blog,' he said.

Dexter said the photographer subsequently made three more phone calls to him.

'I was very angry and I deleted his number,' he said.

But Dexter was worried and kept checking the photographer's blog. The pictures did not appear.

'After a month or so, I didn't bother about it,' he said. 'But I would check every now and then to make sure.'

Almost a year later, in Sep 2007, Dexter was alerted by a friend that there were nude pictures of him posted on a gay website.

'I was shocked. There was nothing I could do as I was overseas at the time,' he said.

In Dec 2007, he engaged a manager to handle his modelling work. His manager contacted the website administrator and had the pictures removed.

As soon as that was done, his friend alerted him that more pictures had reappeared on another Chinese website.

Dexter said: 'When I saw the pictures of myself on the website, I felt even worse. I kept staring at them and asked myself, 'Why did I do that?'

'I felt ashamed,' he said. 'Looking back, it was stupid of me to do it.'

Dexter feared his parents would find out.

'To my parents, I am an obedient boy who just plays computer games and does his homework. I don't want to hurt them.'

The situation worsened last month, when Dexter received an e-mail asking if he provided 'man-to-man' services. He showed the e-mail to The New Paper.

Then his friend again alerted him that his pictures had once again surfaced on the first website.

STRANGERS' REQUESTS

He subsequently received many requests from strangers on his MSN and Friendster accounts asking to be his friend, and asking him on dates.

'It is very disturbing. I dare not ignore these people, and only dare to hit cancel on their online requests. But they keep contacting me,' he said.

'I am afraid to reject them because they may get offended, and I am worried they may get my pictures to threaten me further.'

His manager does not think the alleged imposter is a fellow contestant because the finalists get along well with each other.

'It could be someone he turned down for a date, or a crazy fan.'

Dexter claimed that he is not gay and is dating a female model who does not know about the matter.

'I just want to move on.

'I know now it is not easy to gain the fame I expected. I am very cautious now. I won't do such a shoot again, unless it is for ads by well-known brands, and it is co-ordinated by my manager,' he added.

His manager called this 'a cautionary tale' to warn other young models to think twice before doing such shoots.

'The money is good, but the consequences come later.'