4 Thursday, March 14 2013

THE NEW PAPER

News

When I go out, (it

feels like) people
are staring at me,
its like they are
talking about me
and laughing. Its
totally out of hand.
Susan

TNP PHOTO ILLUSTRATION: ARIFFIN JAMAR

Teen shocked to find nude pictures, phone number posted online

I get calls asking for

MY NAKED PHOTOS
REPORTS: DAVID SUN
davidsun@sph.com.sg
The pictures were uploaded last Tuesday night and
were discovered by Susans friends and teachers on
Facebook, Twitter and forums such as SGClub.
Victim usually
T
WO clicks was all it took to change her young life. She said: When I found out, I was shocked and
Her then-boyfriend had asked her to take nude
pictures of herself and send them to him.
They have since broken up and those images have
angry.
Her principal told her parents and told her to make a
police report, which she did on Monday.
powerless: Lawyer
now appeared online. When contacted, the school declined to comment.
A police spokesman confirmed the report and said UNDER the Penal Code, which sexually explicit material via
To make matters worse, her mobile phone number prohibits the circulation of phone messages has become
has also been circulating online and her life has been investigations were ongoing.
obscene material, it is an offence the norm for many young people.
made a living hell. However, he cautions, there
Susan (not her real name) was 15 when she was Still online to upload pictures of naked
people. are consequences to such acts.
involved with the boy, who was then 17. The two pictures of her are still online. People think its a personal
Lawyer Chen Chee Yen said
It is not known why they broke up. Susan said: There is nothing I can do right now. thing which adds intimacy to a
that anyone who posts obscene
Susan, who will turn 17 this year, discovered that When I go out, (it feels like) people are staring at relationship. Very few think of the
nude pictures of her were circulating online last week pictures of underage persons
me, its like they are talking about me and laughing. Its consequences before doing it,
when friends asked her about them. online could also be charged
totally out of hand. he said.
The secondary school student told The New Paper under the Children and Young
She also gets calls and messages from strangers who They say it will never
in a phone interview: My boyfriend was 17 when he ask her for more nude photos after getting her mobile
Persons Act.
happen to me. Then the
coaxed me into sending him the photos. I did so with- phone number, which was posted on Facebook. Under the act, anyone who
relationship takes a turn for the
out thinking. She said: I get about 10 messages and four calls a procures or attempts to procure worse and they start to regret.
They broke up shortly after. day from strangers. Some call me at 10pm to ask for my the commission of any obscene
Susan suspects her ex-boyfriend could have posted naked photos. or indecent act by any child or Embarrassment
the pictures as she had sent them only to him. I dont know what to do. young person shall be guilty of an
offence. Commenting on Susans case,
The offence carries a he said that embarrassment

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maximum fine of $10,000 or five would be the main issue because
he
the years jail or both. she had found out about the
nnew Criminal lawyer Gopinath Pillai online photos through her friends.
paper said that on top of these charges, In such a case, whether she
becomes depressed depends on
Call, text or e-mail us.
the person uploading the photo
may also have committed other the reaction of family and
friends, he said.
offences, depending on the
If your story is published, you get a...

$100
intent.
He said: If whoever uploaded
the photos did so to take revenge,
then he may also be charged with
criminal intimidation, threats and
THE MANHATTAN blackmail.
FISH MARKET
VOUCHER Dr Brian Yeo, a consultant
psychiatrist at Mount Elizabeth
...plus two T-shirts worth $60 Medical Centre, said that
sexting the act of sending
Call: 1800 733 44 55 SMS/MMS: 9477 8899 E-mail: tnp@sph.com.sg
They need to understand that
they should not be causing the
girl any further grief.
He added that parents and
victims are mostly powerless in
such scenarios.
He said: The most they can
do is take legal action. But even
then, it will be hard to ascertain
who uploaded the photos in the
first place.