The online actions of a female National University of Singapore student against a male student who filmed her while she was showering could potentially be an offence under Singapore's proposed new laws against doxxing.

The female student, Monica Baey, had revealed details of the male student, Nicholas Lim, such as his name, photos, faculty at university and his place of employment, in her Instagram stories, The New Paper reported.

What is doxxing?

Doxxing involves the publishing of someone’s personal information with the intention to harass.

The information could be photos, contact numbers or employment details.

What are these proposed new laws?

The laws against doxxing are part of amendments to the Protection from Harassment Act (POHA) that were tabled in Parliament on April 1, 2019.

Under these amendments, the publication of personal information, when it is done with the intention to harass the victim, or cause violence, will be banned.

Moreover, perpetrators of “doxxing” could face a fine of up to S$5,000 or a jail term of up to six months if the intention was to cause harassment.

The jail term can go up to 12 months if they intended to cause fear or provoke violence.

It is doxxing if intention of harassment is proven

Lawyers who were cited by TNP said that once the new laws come into force, it would be possible to classify the information posted online as doxxing should the intention of harassment be proven.

Lawyer Fong Wei Li said: "Under the new laws, which are yet to come into force, the information that was posted online can be deemed to cause harassment if the intention to do so can be proven."

Fong added that even though Baey herself was a victim, it would make no difference to POHA as the law would allow Lim to take action against Baey if he feels that he has been harassed or alarmed by her actions.

Another lawyer, Gloria James, was also quoted by TNP as stating:

"If she (Baey) wishes to share her story, she could have done so without crossing the line as she does him more damage."

Here's more information on the criminalisation of doxxing:

Top image collage from Baey Instagram and via

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