Singapore is number 1 on the world map again.

This time it is for the arrest and successful prosecution of a Singaporean, Colin Mak Yew Leong, 38, who had cyber-stalked American singer, Leandra Ramm, 29, for six years.

It is the first known case in the world where a cyber-stalker has been prosecuted for committing cyber-stalking across national boundaries.

Rhory Robertson, a Partner in Collyer Bristow, a London law firm specialising in cyberstalking cases, said, "It is the first one I have heard of and should give victims the courage to come forward."

"It just goes to show these cowardly people who carry out this kind of behaviour that it is a criminal offence and that you cannot hide from justice," he added.

US data forensic expert A.J. Fardella praised Singapore's judicial system.

In an interview with The New Paper, he said, "there is a severe lack of collaborative law enforcement treaties between countries regarding the exchange of electronic data. But Singapore's judicial system has blazed the trail with the successful indictment of Mak".

About the case

In 2005, Mak contacted Ramm after watching her perform on television, claiming to be the director of the Singapore Music Festival.

He promised to advance her career, but was detected by her colleagues and minders to be a fraud.

He continued to reach out to her, with his messages becoming more violent and sexual.

Ramm tried to placate Mak by speaking to him online and through the phone every 10 days for two and a half years.

In 2009, about three years into the harassment, Ramm hired a private investigation agency in Singapore to locate Mak.

She also finally stopped replying him in 2010 as Mak wanted to increase their contact online.

The process to locate him took two years and lasted till 2011 as individuals or private companies do not have access to the national database to find out who owns an IP address. This made tracking down the harasser a lengthy process.

But when Mak was positively identified in April 2011, the Singapore police were unable to arrest him.

The police deemed this case one of intentional harassment but also said that this case was a "non-arrestable offence". The authorities suggested Ramm file a magistrate's complaint instead. This required her to come to Singapore personally.

However, Ram was too afraid to come to Singapore to pursue the case. She then approached a certified data forensic examiner in the US for help.

And this was when things got interesting.

He, in turn, got the Federal Bureau of Investigation to seek the assistance of the Singapore police.

And according to this US-based newspaper, the forensic examiner had consolidated a vast amount of digital evidence, which he sent to the Singapore police.

He then reportedly also tapped a Secret Service connection, which happens to have a training center in Singapore, to get the case moving.

Her story appeared in The Economist in April 2011.

In the story, Ramm said that she has had scant help from the American police and that the police in Singapore have shown no interest.

Mak's arrest in July 2011

Mak was arrested by the Singapore police on July 21, 2011, and later released him while they continued their investigation.

He pleaded guilty on Dec. 4 this year to 14 charges of criminal intimidation and three of harassment, criminal trespass and theft in dwelling.

Mak, apparently, had also sent threatening emails to German national Siegfried Geyer -- the boyfriend of a Hungarian musician he became obsessed with after seeing her perform in Singapore, as well as a local businesswoman who he believed had stolen business from him.

District Judge Matthew Joseph, during sentencing, called the matter an "abhorrent case of cross-border cyber-stalking".

The judge also said: "The virtual Internet in your criminal hands became a lethal weapon. It was used as a weapon of massive personal destruction in the real world of your hapless victims."

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Top photo of Leandra Ramm from her Facebook.

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