SINGAPORE: A young man who came across nude images of female subjects for sale on microblogging platform Tumblr bought some and later resold illicit content to other users.
Over about six months, he sold a total of at least 1,149 obscene video files to customers on at least 180 occasions, collecting a total payment of S$13,690 (US$10,710).
On Wednesday (Mar 4), Gregory Seow Rui Jie, 26, was sentenced to eight weeks' jail. He pleaded guilty to one count of selling obscene films.
The court heard that Seow was browsing Tumblr in around January 2023 when he came across a user who posted censored nude images of females.
The user invited those who wanted more information about the images to send him direct messages.
Seow sent the user a message and was asked to create an account on file hosting and storage service MEGA. He did so and was given a link, which led to a file containing nude images of females.
Court documents did not specify the ages of those in the images.
Contemplating reselling the images to earn some money, Seow told the user he wanted to buy the rest of the sexual videos and images if there were more.
He paid S$50 to the user via a PayLah QR code and was given a link to a folder named "SG Galore", with many subfolders inside containing sexual videos and images.
Seow downloaded all the material onto his personal MEGA account as well as the hard disk of his laptop. He also downloaded some of the material onto his phone.
Sometime in November 2023, Seow created a few Tumblr accounts and advertised the sale of the sexual material, posting some of the images with hashtags like "xmm", "sgbabe" and "sggals".
Various Tumblr users sent direct messages to Seow expressing interest in purchasing the material. Seow would either reply to them on Tumblr, or move the conversation to Telegram, where he replied with a template message.
The message advertised the "SG Galore" folder, which had subfolders such as "2023", "Voyeur delights" and other titles reflecting the nature of the material. The template message also contained a preview of some images.
Customers paid Seow via PayLah QR codes and received MEGA links containing the material.
Initially, Seow mostly charged S$50 for all the material, but later began charging S$100 and later S$200.
Between Nov 15, 2023 and May 3, 2024, he sold the sexual material to customers on 180 separate occasions, receiving a total of S$13,690.
A police report was lodged on Aug 5, 2024, and the police went to Seow's flat two days later. They seized his laptop and handphone and arrested him.
Investigations revealed that the sexual material within the "SG Galore" folder comprised 26,864 videos and 128,308 images amounting to 1.2 terabytes of media files.
The Infocomm Media Development Authority examined a sampling of the files, numbering 1,149, and found that all of them contained obscene films.
Seow's bank account was frozen and he did not object to S$13,690 in the account being forfeited to the state.
The prosecutor sought eight to 10 weeks' jail for Seow.
For selling obscene films, he could have been jailed for up to three months, fined, or both. As the charge contained multiple instances, he could have been liable to double the maximum penalties.
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Over about six months, he sold a total of at least 1,149 obscene video files to customers on at least 180 occasions, collecting a total payment of S$13,690 (US$10,710).
On Wednesday (Mar 4), Gregory Seow Rui Jie, 26, was sentenced to eight weeks' jail. He pleaded guilty to one count of selling obscene films.
The court heard that Seow was browsing Tumblr in around January 2023 when he came across a user who posted censored nude images of females.
The user invited those who wanted more information about the images to send him direct messages.
Seow sent the user a message and was asked to create an account on file hosting and storage service MEGA. He did so and was given a link, which led to a file containing nude images of females.
Court documents did not specify the ages of those in the images.
Contemplating reselling the images to earn some money, Seow told the user he wanted to buy the rest of the sexual videos and images if there were more.
He paid S$50 to the user via a PayLah QR code and was given a link to a folder named "SG Galore", with many subfolders inside containing sexual videos and images.
Seow downloaded all the material onto his personal MEGA account as well as the hard disk of his laptop. He also downloaded some of the material onto his phone.
Sometime in November 2023, Seow created a few Tumblr accounts and advertised the sale of the sexual material, posting some of the images with hashtags like "xmm", "sgbabe" and "sggals".
Various Tumblr users sent direct messages to Seow expressing interest in purchasing the material. Seow would either reply to them on Tumblr, or move the conversation to Telegram, where he replied with a template message.
The message advertised the "SG Galore" folder, which had subfolders such as "2023", "Voyeur delights" and other titles reflecting the nature of the material. The template message also contained a preview of some images.
Customers paid Seow via PayLah QR codes and received MEGA links containing the material.
Initially, Seow mostly charged S$50 for all the material, but later began charging S$100 and later S$200.
Between Nov 15, 2023 and May 3, 2024, he sold the sexual material to customers on 180 separate occasions, receiving a total of S$13,690.
A police report was lodged on Aug 5, 2024, and the police went to Seow's flat two days later. They seized his laptop and handphone and arrested him.
Investigations revealed that the sexual material within the "SG Galore" folder comprised 26,864 videos and 128,308 images amounting to 1.2 terabytes of media files.
The Infocomm Media Development Authority examined a sampling of the files, numbering 1,149, and found that all of them contained obscene films.
Seow's bank account was frozen and he did not object to S$13,690 in the account being forfeited to the state.
The prosecutor sought eight to 10 weeks' jail for Seow.
For selling obscene films, he could have been jailed for up to three months, fined, or both. As the charge contained multiple instances, he could have been liable to double the maximum penalties.
Continue reading...