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Six months' jail for man found with over 1,000 obscene videos, including child pornography
www.straitstimes.com
Six months' jail for man found with over 1,000 obscene videos, including child pornography
SINGAPORE - After construction worker Zahidul clicked on a Facebook link in 2017, he was taken to a WhatsApp chat group where members shared obscene material, including videos of sexual activities between adults.
The Bangladeshi became addicted to viewing such material, and eventually also developed an obsession with child pornography.
He was later discovered to have more than 1,000 obscene videos in his two mobile phones. These include 83 videos showing child pornography, with some involving children as young as one year old.
Zahidul, 36, was sentenced to six months' jail on Thursday (Oct 8), after pleading guilty to one count each of possessing child abuse material and transmitting pornographic videos electronically.
One other charge of possessing obscene films was taken into consideration by Senior District Judge Ong Hian Sun.
Court documents state that Zahidul became addicted to viewing obscene videos after watching such videos shared in the WhatsApp messaging group he joined in 2017. Members of the group also shared information about other groups on various messaging apps where obscene videos were being circulated.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Sheldon Lim said Zahidul continued to seek obscene videos by joining more messaging groups on various apps such as Telegram and Line.
He also became addicted to viewing child abuse material after watching videos of children engaging in sexual activity, the DPP said.
Zahidul later began downloading obscene videos from the messaging groups for his own viewing pleasure and to share in other groups.
On Nov 9, 2017, he shared two videos he downloaded, which showed children engaging in sexual acts with adults, in a WhatsApp messaging group. Information on this incident was told to the Singapore police by Interpol on June 22 this year. Police arrested Zahidul at his residence on June 30, and seized two mobile phones from him.
A total of 1,290 obscene videos were found in the phones, including 83 videos of children engaged in sexual activities with men or other children.
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"The children in the videos range from one year old to 14 years old, with the majority of the videos featuring children who are prepubescent," DPP Lim said.
Urging the court to impose a jail term of at least 12 months, the DPP said in his written submissions that although Zahidul did not produce the child abuse material, "by searching for it, viewing it, and downloading it, he was still contributing to the production and proliferation of the material in our society".
Appearing in court via video-link on Thursday, Zahidul broke down in tears minutes after the hearing started.
He also asked for a lighter sentence and said, among other things, that he was the sole breadwinner of his family, which included his elderly parents.
His jail term has been backdated to July 2 when he was first remanded.
For transmitting the two pornographic videos electronically, Zahidul could have been jailed for up to three months and/or fined.
For possessing child abuse material, he could have been jailed for up to five years and fined or caned.
www.straitstimes.com
Six months' jail for man found with over 1,000 obscene videos, including child pornography
SINGAPORE - After construction worker Zahidul clicked on a Facebook link in 2017, he was taken to a WhatsApp chat group where members shared obscene material, including videos of sexual activities between adults.
The Bangladeshi became addicted to viewing such material, and eventually also developed an obsession with child pornography.
He was later discovered to have more than 1,000 obscene videos in his two mobile phones. These include 83 videos showing child pornography, with some involving children as young as one year old.
Zahidul, 36, was sentenced to six months' jail on Thursday (Oct 8), after pleading guilty to one count each of possessing child abuse material and transmitting pornographic videos electronically.
One other charge of possessing obscene films was taken into consideration by Senior District Judge Ong Hian Sun.
Court documents state that Zahidul became addicted to viewing obscene videos after watching such videos shared in the WhatsApp messaging group he joined in 2017. Members of the group also shared information about other groups on various messaging apps where obscene videos were being circulated.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Sheldon Lim said Zahidul continued to seek obscene videos by joining more messaging groups on various apps such as Telegram and Line.
He also became addicted to viewing child abuse material after watching videos of children engaging in sexual activity, the DPP said.
Zahidul later began downloading obscene videos from the messaging groups for his own viewing pleasure and to share in other groups.
On Nov 9, 2017, he shared two videos he downloaded, which showed children engaging in sexual acts with adults, in a WhatsApp messaging group. Information on this incident was told to the Singapore police by Interpol on June 22 this year. Police arrested Zahidul at his residence on June 30, and seized two mobile phones from him.
A total of 1,290 obscene videos were found in the phones, including 83 videos of children engaged in sexual activities with men or other children.
Ex-bank exec gets 12 weeks' jail for possession of obscene films, child pornography
5½ years' jail for man who shared information to promote child sex activities in the Philippines
Singapore-based paedophile Boris Kunsevitsky produced child pornography, stored it in e-folder named 'jailbait'
"The children in the videos range from one year old to 14 years old, with the majority of the videos featuring children who are prepubescent," DPP Lim said.
Urging the court to impose a jail term of at least 12 months, the DPP said in his written submissions that although Zahidul did not produce the child abuse material, "by searching for it, viewing it, and downloading it, he was still contributing to the production and proliferation of the material in our society".
Appearing in court via video-link on Thursday, Zahidul broke down in tears minutes after the hearing started.
He also asked for a lighter sentence and said, among other things, that he was the sole breadwinner of his family, which included his elderly parents.
His jail term has been backdated to July 2 when he was first remanded.
For transmitting the two pornographic videos electronically, Zahidul could have been jailed for up to three months and/or fined.
For possessing child abuse material, he could have been jailed for up to five years and fined or caned.
I can only afford one and it was bought second hand.
