Two teenagers were among four people charged in court on Tuesday, Oct. 15 over their alleged involvement in the "SG Nasi Lemak" chat group.

The four appeared via video link.

They are Abdilah Sabaruddin, 17, Justin Lee Han Shi, 19, Leonard Teo Min Xuan, 26, and Liong Tianwei, 37.

The police said on Tuesday, Oct. 14 that those arrested were aged between 17 and 37.

All four accused are remanded at Woodlands Police Division.

They will return to court on Oct. 22.

Today reported that Teo is a freelance actor and dancer, according to his Facebook page.

Today also reported that Liong is the only one represented by a lawyer, Tan Hee Joek, from Tan Swee Swan & Co.

Arrested a day before

Officers from Ang Mo Kio Police Division established the identities of the men and arrested them at various locations islandwide on Oct. 14, 2019.

Investigations revealed that the 26-year-old man and 37-year-old man are the administrators behind the said chat group, while the 17-year-old and 19-year-old teenagers are the distributors of the obscene materials.

More than 10 electronic devices, including a central processing unit, a laptop, a hard disk and several mobile phones, were seized as case exhibits.

Background

The chat group was used for circulating obscene materials, including upskirt photos, and promoting vice activities, such as selling vaping equipment and offering sexual services.

The police said they received several reports against the chat group between March 15 and Oct. 3 2019.

At 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.

Other media reports have claimed that there was a S$30 "entry fee" for joining the group, 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.

Police warning

The police have advised members of the public not to solicit in any lewd websites or join such online platforms and illicit chat groups.

They added that the police take a "serious view of anyone involved in criminal activities and will continue to take tough enforcement actions against those breaking the law".

The police has not revealed how it managed to arrest the administrators of the vice channel on the Russian-made chat platform favoured by dissidents as it is supposedly encrypted and promotes anonymity.

The police previously said the suspects will be charged in court with conspiracy to commit distributions of obscene materials.

If convicted, they could be jailed for up to three months, fined, or both.