Man fined S$3,500 for sending explicit photos of wife to friend, saying they were 'open-minded' couple

SINGAPORE — A 34-year-old man has been fined S$3,500 for sending explicit photos of his wife then to a male friend without her consent, an act described by the judge as an "abysmal low" in human conduct.

The man, who was self-employed and working as a second-hand car dealer at the time, sent several explicit photos of his wife via phone messages to his friend from November 2018 to May 2019.

When his friend reminded the man that the photos were of the man’s wife, the man told his friend not to worry as the couple were “open-minded”.

He pleaded guilty to one charge of insulting a woman's modesty on Tuesday (Sept 27). 

The victim, the man and the man’s friend cannot be named due to a gag order to protect the woman's identity. 

At the time, the man and the 30-year-old victim were married. They divorced in May 2019.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Gan Ee Kiat said that the photos of the victim included her in her underwear as well as one of a hand grabbing her right breast. Her face was not shown in any of the photos. 

According to court documents, the victim confirmed that the images were of her taken by the man. She did not consent to him sharing the images. 

She had discovered that the man had been sending out and showing pictures and videos of her to two of his friends sometime in June 2019. 

She lodged a police report on Nov 29, 2019. 

DPP Gan told the court that by sending and showing several intimate images of the victim without her consent, the man had “intruded upon the victim’s privacy and thereby insulted her modesty”. 

He asked for a fine of S$2,000. 

The man’s lawyer, Narendra Mudaliar, also sought a fine of S$2,000 but asked for it to be paid in instalments. 

He explained that his client is an undischarged bankrupt living with his elderly mother and seeking employment. 

Mr Mudaliar said that the accused had been cooperative and agreed to plead guilty at the earliest possible time.  

He said that his client regrets sharing the images and that his actions were from “a lapse of judgement” driven by the breakdown of the couple’s marriage at the time. 

However, District Judge Janet Wang imposed a fine markedly higher than the S$2,000 sought by both prosecution and defence. She agreed that it could be paid in instalments.

She said that the man had sent the photos while the couple were still married and his actions might have led to the divorce, although “we do not want to be speculative”.

The judge said that the case involved “a display of human conduct at its abysmal low” and “crass behaviour” that caused distress to the victim. 

It was not a “one-off moment of folly” as he had done it multiple times over six months. 

For insulting a woman’s modesty, the man could have been jailed for up to 12 months, fined or both.