Jilted lecturer jailed for distributing obscene photos
By Claire Huang
POSTED: 25 Sep 2013 5:11 PM
<iframe src="//www.youtube.com/embed/Dig2qHgT_iU?rel=0" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" width="560"></iframe>
SINGAPORE: An ITE lecturer was sentenced to three weeks’ jail on Wednesday for sending his former lover’s naked photos to her school and parents.
Fifty-year-old Low Peng Hu was upset with his ex-girlfriend for having a new boyfriend and sent the photos in revenge.
The father of one admitted distributing five to seven obscene photos of the 23-year-old in November 2012.
The prosecution proceeded on one charge. Low is the first accused in such a case to be prosecuted under Section 292 of the Penal Code, where distribution of obscene photos is an offence.
Court documents showed that Low started going out with the victim after she had graduated.
Their three-year relationship ended in August last year when she told Low about her new boyfriend.
Feeling angry and betrayed, Low sent obscene photos of her to her school; subsequently, he sent the photos with humiliating captions along with a letter to her parents.
In the letter, he pretended to be the boyfriend's former homosexual partner and claimed to suffer from HIV.
He also said the boyfriend was out to cheat their daughter.
Previously, prosecutor Nicholas Khoo had asked for a two-week jail term, saying Low's acts were despicable and that he had concocted an elaborate story to take revenge on her.
The prosecutor said Low tried to use photos taken in confidence to break up the ex-girlfriend’s relationship with her boyfriend.
Defence lawyer Shashi Nathan said Low was deeply hurt and asked the court for a lighter sentence.
Describing his client as a grown man with the mind of a 15-year-old, Mr Nathan said Low was dumped after the girl had made use of him.
District Judge Christopher Goh stressed that the intimate photos were taken "in confidence" during the course of the relationship.
He also said it was "cowardly" of Low to use the photos to humiliate the girl.
The Judge added that the degrading captions were aggravating factors, and warranted a stiffer punishment than the two-week jail term the prosecution had asked for.
The maximum penalty for such an offence is a jail term of up to three months and a fine on each count.
- CNA/gn
