Man gets jail for posting intimate images of 2 ex-girlfriends on porn site, blames actions on 'very bad divorce'
SINGAPORE — Siva Kumaran Ilangovan told police that he was "not thinking straight" due to a "very bad divorce", after he was arrested for uploading intimate photographs of one ex-girlfriend and nude videos of another onto a publicly accessible pornographic website.
On Friday (May 19), the 30-year-old Singaporean pleaded guilty to two counts of intentionally distributing intimate photos and recordings, and was sentenced to six weeks' jail.
Two other counts of a similar nature were taken into consideration during sentencing.
The names of the victims, now aged 30 and 27, cannot be published under a court order to protect their identities.
WHAT HAPPENED
Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Daniel Ling told the court that on Nov 14, 2020, the first victim received a private message from her friend stating that a nude video recording of her had been posted onto a publicly accessible pornographic website.
The victim then found two video recordings that had been posted on the website. She recognised them from a webcam video call she had had with Siva, who was her boyfriend at the time.
Though her face could not be seen, her chest area was fully exposed in the videos.
This left the victim feeling distressed. She had dated Siva years earlier, between 2011 and 2012, and had not kept in touch with him since they broke up, DPP Ling said.
Two days later, on Nov 16, the second victim was told by a friend about photographs of her on a publicly accessible pornographic website.
When the victim saw the photographs, she realised that they had been taken and willingly sent to Siva when they were in a romantic relationship around 2015.
Though her eyes could not be seen in the photographs, the second victim's nose and mouth could be seen along with her chest area, which was covered by a bra.
The exact number of photographs that were uploaded was not stated in court documents.
Police investigations found that on Sept 5, 2020, Siva published both the first and second victims' intimate photographs and recordings without their consent, with the likely intention to cause them both distress.
Siva, who was not represented by a lawyer, told District Judge Ow Yong Tuck Leong that he felt regretful for causing "distress and hurt" to the victims and was willing to accept the consequences even if his "stupidity" might mean he loses everything.
For intentionally distributing intimate photos and recording, he could have been jailed for up to five years, with a fine or caning, or any combination of these punishments.
