Man sentenced to 8 weeks' jail after blackmailing teen while posing as woman
A man who threatened to show a nude photograph of a male teenager to the police if he did not pay him $800 was sentenced to eight weeks' jail yesterday.
Mohammad Zareen Wahid, 25, befriended the 18-year-old student in late August 2014 via a social networking platform, Tagged, and posed as a woman.
We are not naming the student due to a gag order to protect his identity.
INTIMATE
Posing as a woman, Zareen exchanged phone numbers with the student and they began having intimate conversations via WhatsApp, an instant messaging app.
The next month, the student sent Zareen a photograph of his nude lower body.
Zareen threatened to show the photograph to the police unless the student paid him $800.
Distressed, the student agreed, but told Zareen he did not have enough money.
On Sept 24 last year, the student used money from his bursary awards and transferred $480 to a bank account belonging to Zareen's friend.
Court papers said the friend was unaware of Zareen's ill intentions when she passed him her bank account number.
The student made a police report against Zareen five days later.
Yesterday, Zareen, a waiter, was jailed eight weeks for one count of criminal intimidation.
He had spent the money on shopping and daily expenses, but has since paid back the $480.
BY THE numbers
$158,000
The amount of money extorted from victims of cyber extortion scams in 2014, up from $56,000 in 2013. There were 257 cases of cyber extortion reported to the police in 2014, up from 108 in 2013.
SOURCE: SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE
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