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Wong Ming Jun, 28, a Singaporean man, was fined S$42,000 on April 8 for possessing more than 4,200 obscene videos and photos.

He had pleaded guilty to three charges of possessing obscene materials, with another eight similar charges considered for sentencing.

The punishment meted out to Ong was related to his membership in a Telegram chat group, "Sam's lots of CB Collection".

The group circulated leaked sexual videos and images of women, and these included nude photos, photos of women dressed scantily or in compromising positions, and were believed to have been circulated on the platform without consent.

He joined the group in November 2018.

The prosecution said the chat group was linked to local forum Sammy Boy Forum, where users discuss pornography and other matters of a sexual nature, CNA reported.

A woman lodged a police report on Oct. 24, 2019 about the group that had more than 24,000 members.

Wong's crimes

Wong was arrested in his home on Nov. 6, 2019.

Police found more than 4,200 obscene videos and photos in his laptop, mobile phone and thumb drives.

Wong's mobile phone alone contained about 2,200 obscene videos downloaded from the Internet.

Around 1,400 photos in his mobile phone included those photos that Wong took of himself, his friends and his partners.

He did not display or transmit these materials to others and only used them for his personal consumption, the prosecution said, according to CNA.

What judge said

The defence asked for a fine of not more than S$27,500, while the prosecutor sought a fine of S$42,000 to S$42,500, CNA reported, with the defence also saying that the case has impacted Wong's career prospects.

In response, the judge disagreed and referenced a news article where Wong described his blue-collar worker career as a prime mover driver as "fulfilling and productive".

The judge also said any impact to Wong's career was a natural consequence of his own actions.

However, the judge agreed that Wong's offences did not warrant a jail term as the obscene materials were retained for the accused's own consumption.

Wong is the last of four men, who were members of the Telegram chat group, to be dealt with.

His three co-accused Tan Yeow Chong, Lincoln Anthony Fernandez and Yee Wing Kay have been jailed and fined.

Background

Wong wrote an opinion piece published in Nikkei Asia in July 2021 that criticised the Singapore government's handling of KTV lounges when the height of the Covid-19 infections were linked to these establishments.

The Ministry of Home Affairs rebutted the piece point-by-point and called it "full of inaccuracies".

Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam wrote in response, calling out Wong's motive: "We are left to wonder if the criminal investigation against him was the reason for his diatribe based on falsehoods; and the extent to which he was doing a political hack job."

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