The local vice-filled "SG Nasi Lemak" Telegram chat group has been reported to the Singapore police and formal investigations are ongoing.

The police said on Friday, Oct. 4 they have received reports against the chat group.

As a result of the publicity on Twitter and catching the attention of authorities, the chat group is now no longer accessible.

What was "SG Nasi Lemak" for?

Despite its innocent gastronomic name, "SG Nasi Lemak" is filled with crowdsourced obscene photos and videos of women openly shared and traded in the group.

The Telegram group surfaced and came to the wider public's attention in September 2019 after several women reported finding their photos shared on the platform.

By this time, which was the platform's peak, it had between 44,000 to 46,000 members.

The administrator of the group encouraged open sharing of material and disavowed responsibility for any content uploaded there.

What did the police say?

The authorities said in a statement: "The police would like to advise members of the public that the circulation of obscene materials is an offence under Section 292 of the Penal Code."

"Anyone who transmits by electronic means any obscene materials may be liable to a jail term of up to three months, or fine, or both."

Anyone with information is requested to call the police hotline at 1800-255-0000 or submit information online.

All information will be kept strictly confidential.

Background

The "SG Nasi Lemak" Telegram group featured lewd content involving Singaporean girls and women, taken and shared without their permission.

This could range from images or videos that constitute revenge porn to voyeuristic shots of girls and women in public places.

Anonymity is ensured by Telegram, a unique selling point of the platform, as phone numbers need not be visible.

Users go by handles and pseudonyms.

The platform was also used to advertise the sale of cigarettes and vaping devices, which is illegal.

Sex workers would also use the platform to advertise their services, indicating openly their rates, the types of services they provided, and the locations.

The platform was also used to sell male sexual-enhancement drugs.

Chinese newspaper Lianhe Wanbao reported that the Telegram group had been set up for more than a year, but its membership spiked in recent months as more people got wind of it.

Wanbao even reported that those interested in gaining access to the group would pay S$30 as an "entry fee" -- but did not mention how this was possible with such a large membership, especially with members not even originating from Singapore.

And this information is contrary to what other users experienced, as they managed to gain access for free.

Towards the end of the Telegram's group existence, it was blocked on iPhone because "it was used to spread pornographic content", while Android users could still gain access.