A 34-year-old man was fined S$3,500 for sending intimate photos of his wife (now ex-wife) to a male friend on Tuesday (Sep 27).
According to Channel News Asia, the 34-year-old offender pleaded guilty to one count of insulting a woman’s modesty. The man cannot be named due to a gag order protecting the victim’s identity.
“Open Minded”
He shared pictures of his wife with his male friend between December 2018 and May 2019. The offender was a self-employed used cars salesman at the time of the offence, the court was informed.
When his friend pointed out that the images showed his wife, the offender assured him that they were “open-minded” and said not to worry.
In May 2019, the couple signed a deed of separation. A month later, the victim discovered that the offender had been sending intimate photos of her to two of his friends without her consent. She lodged a police report in November 2019, according to CNA.
The prosecution requested a S$2,000 fine, citing the low level of premeditation and preparation as well as the minimal level of intrusion in comparison to other cases. Additionally, there was no exposure of the offender’s privates, and no one was caught red-handed.
District Judge disagreed to this and said “I don’t quite agree with you that he wasn’t caught red-handed, from the fact that the wife found out. He was discovered in time by the victim, who then lodged a police report”.
When the images were distributed, was the marriage “still alive”? Also, what happened to the two friends who received the photos were questions she asked the prosecution.
The prosecution stated that although the victim claimed that two persons had received the images, investigations showed that only one person had. The prosecutor also confirmed that the couple was still married at the time the offender sent the photos. This person has not been charged nor warned, the prosecutor replied to the judge’s question.
In addition, lawyer Narendra Mudaliar requested a S$2,000 fine, arguing that his client had cooperated with law enforcement and had only shared the private photos with one person.
“My client regrets his decision in sharing the pictures,” he said. “He has mentioned to me that it was a lapse of judgment, also driven by the breakdown of their marriage at the relevant time.”
Judge Wang intervened, pointing out that the man only executed the deed of separation in May 2019 and that the chain of events began in December 2018, while the marriage was still “alive,” and continued through those months.
PAY FINE IN INSTALMENTS : JUDGE
“Perhaps it’s his actions that led, precipitated to the breakdown of the marriage,” she said, adding that of course “we don’t want to be speculative”.
The lawyer continued, asking that any fines be paid in instalments because his client is bankrupt & living with his elderly mother.
Judge Wang in sentencing said this case showed a “display of human conduct at its abysmal low”, with the offender abusing spousal trust and demonstrating “reprehensible and crass behaviour”.
The acts were committed over six months and could not be described as a one-off moment of folly, she said. Both prosecution and defence agreed on a fine as the sentence, said Judge Wang, but the fine “cannot be a mockery of the harm caused to the victim”.
She imposed a fine slightly higher than what both sides had asked for, and allowed the man to pay it in instalments by December. For insulting a woman’s modesty, he could have been jailed up to a year, fined, or both.
Note : Images for illustration purpose only.
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