A man who claimed he needed money for school fees resold intimate images of an influencer he bought for S$15 on Telegram.

He was arrested and sentenced to 9 months in jail after pleading guilty to a charge of intentionally distributing intimate images and recordings of the victim without the victim's consent.

Bought leaked media for S$15

According to a judgment made publicly available on Dec. 22, 2023, Lim Jun Jie was an "active participant" on Telegram groups that traded and sold pornographic material.

The victim, who was described as a "content creator and influencer with an active presence on the internet", kept intimate images and recordings of herself on a Snapchat account.

This account was hacked into by a third party, who downloaded said media and put them up for sale on the Telegram groups.

Lim bought the media from a user called "Alvin".

He paid S$15.

He, in turn, sold these materials on Telegram because he needed money for his school fees.

"No malice" as he did it for school fees

The prosecution asked for 9 to 10 months imprisonment, while the accused's lawyers asked for a lighter sentence of 5 months.

The lawyer stated that the material was "shared" with people who were "not acquainted" with the victim and not to the wider public.

He also said that "only some" of the media showed the victim fully naked.

The lawyer said there was "no malice" as Lim committed the offence to raise money for his school fees and was "far less serious" compared to similar cases.

Acted out of "self-interest": Judge

The judge found that Lim acted "out of self-interest and for financial gain" as no evidence was presented to show that he was in financial distress.

The defence did not elaborate on his financial situation, how he was currently paying for school, whether he had dependents to support, and whether he could have worked part-time for more income, he said.

The judge also pointed out that while Lim was not the one who hacked into the influencer's Snapchat account, he would have known that the victim did not consent to their distribution.

Lim was also an "active participant" in the Telegram groups, the judge said, adding that Lim's premeditation of carrying out of the transactions anonymously through Telegram increased the need for specific deterrence.

Considerable harm caused to victim

The judge said that the harm caused to the victim was not minor.

He noted that it would have been "highly foreseeable" to Lim that his buyers would further circulate the media, especially since the victim was a public figure.

The influencer was portrayed in "various states of undress". Some photos and recordings show her fully naked.

Some of the content also revealed her face and made her recognisable.

After considering that Lim was a first-time offender, the judge sentenced Lim to nine months in jail.

Lim has filed an appeal against his sentence.

Top images via Unsplash for illustration purposes