Man sent ex-girlfriend's nude photos to website

Man sent ex-girlfriend's nude photos to website

Angry with his former girlfriend for communicating with another man, Lu Yi e-mailed 20 nude photos of her to Tumblr.

Lu, 21, and the woman, also 21, had exchanged nude photographs when they were in a short relationship in 2015. They broke up some time in January last year as she found his behaviour abusive.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Azri Imran Tan said Lu continued to send her text messages after the break-up. During this period, they had a dispute over a careers event in March last year. When he found out she was communicating with another man, he decided to send nude photographs of her to the Web administrator of Tumblr.

While surfing the Internet at his Seletar Green Walk home on March 10 last year, Lu came across a Tumblr-hosted website where people could send nude photos of individuals. These would be uploaded onto another website for people to view. Lu sent 20 nude photos of the victim along with her name and school details to the e-mail address. Eight were quickly uploaded.

That evening, the complainant found out about the nude photos. She subsequently identified them as the ones she had sent to Lu. She felt embarrassed, ashamed and guilty, said DPP Tan.

She had the photos removed within a few hours. She suspected Lu to be the culprit and recalled that he had threatened to "make her suffer" during the break-up. But he denied having anything to do with the uploaded photos.

After Lu's arrest, 16 of her nude photos were found in his phone.

DPP Tan, who sought at least four weeks' jail, said this was a case of "revenge porn" where sexually explicit images taken during a relationship are later used to blackmail or even punish the victim following a break-up. Once in the public domain, DPP Tan said, these photos could be easily reproduced and circulated, even when removed from the original source.

"The impact on the victim involved is severe and irreversible. Deterrence is warranted as 'revenge porn' is a scourge upon society, and would-be offenders must be sent a message that it is not acceptable to circulate or distribute sexually explicit material obtained during... an intimate relationship that is private to both parties," he said.

District Judge Wong Li Tein agreed that this was a premeditated and calculated offence. She said it was a "vicious act" and sentenced Lu to four weeks' jail.

He could have been jailed for up to three months and/or fined.


This article was first published on Apr 04, 2017.
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