Probation for student linked to sex-themed SG Nasi Lemak chat group

A student was yesterday given probation and ordered to attend psychoeducation on responsible sexual conduct for his role in the sex-themed SG Nasi Lemak Telegram chat group.

The teenager, 18, who cannot be named as he was below 18 when he committed the offences, was given 12 months' supervised probation and must perform 40 hours of community service.

He was the youngest of four men arrested in islandwide raids last year to bring down the chat group.

It had been circulating obscene images of women and girls to thousands of members.

He pleaded guilty in October to possessing 59 obscene films on his phone, and is the second person to be dealt with.

As part of his probation, he must remain indoors from 10pm to 6am and attend psychoeducation on healthy sexuality and responsible sexual conduct.

His parents were bonded for $5,000 to ensure his good behaviour.

OTHER CHARGES

In sentencing him, District Judge Seah Chi-Ling considered two other charges of sending a photo of two nude women to the chat group, and possessing 388 obscene images in his phone for transmission.

The judge said the teen was assessed to have a low risk of re-offending, had strong family support, and showed improvements in his overall conduct since the offences.

The court earlier heard that the police received 35 reports about the chat group, which had about 44,000 members, between March and October last year.

The teen admitted to being a member of the chat group after the police raided his home on Oct 14 last year.

His mobile phone was sent for forensic examination, and 742 image files and 66 video files that were extracted from it were sent for review.

Of the video files, 59 were deemed to be obscene.

He was later charged with three others - Justin Lee Han Shi, 20, and chat group administrators Leonard Teo Min Xuan, 27, and Liong Tianwei, 38.

Last year, Lee was also sentenced to a year's probation.

The other two cases are pending.- KOK YUFENG