A woman in her 20s was alarmed when she overheard on the MRT two young men discussing "influencers leaks".

The boys were talking about the women's bodies and how the explicit photos were circulated on a Telegram group.

She decided to join the Telegram group to find out if what they said was true and was shocked to find not only explicit photos of purported "Singapore influencers", but also many photos of young schoolgirls and the users' attempts to sexualise them.

What's in the groups

Through her friend, a Mothership reader, the woman said she had made at least two police reports since May 2024.

The Mothership reader also made a police report this month.

Screenshots provided to Mothership showed users circulating explicit and compromising photos and videos of girls and women in the Telegram groups.

While not all the girls and women were identified as from Singapore, some of these sexual photos and videos are accompanied by photos of girls in their uniforms, similar to those worn by students from local Singapore secondary schools.

Users also asked in the chat for more people to share "SG influencer leaks" and "SG content".

Some posted clothed photos of Singapore women, asking if anyone could provide them with "leaks".

Some users also asked if anyone would like to "exchange upskirt photos".

Photos of fully-clothed women with a focus on their upper or lower private parts were also shared in the group.

Users also shared AI-generated deepfake photos of Singapore women.

Channels appear to be "syndicated"

Checks by Mothership discovered that the groups appear to be a syndicated "network", with the administrators advertising a series of channels circulating purportedly "local" content from various places in Asia.

Their "main content channel" has 12,000 members as of Jul. 13, 2024.

There are over 10,000 photos and videos on the channel.

There is also a channel named "Exclusive Singapore Content", with hundreds of members and over 10,000 join requests.

Channels also advertise content from purportedly Singaporean Onlyfans creators, escort services and used underwear sellers.

Police investigating

In response to Mothership's queries, the police confirmed that they have received the police reports and are investigating the matter.

The story of a victim

In a January 2023 interview with Shin Min Daily News, a victim of voyeurism told reporters that people often cannot imagine the kind of mental distress victims go through, especially when perpetrators upload the video to the internet.

In her case, the video was taken by a classmate during a chalet outing when she was still a secondary school student.

She only found out the video of her showering was being circulated — for years — when a random stranger messaged her on social media to ask her, with a link to the video, "Is this you?"

She made a police report, but investigations were difficult because not only was the offence dated, but the tools available to the investigators then — both physically and legally — made it almost impossible to find the perpetrator's identity.

However, what she felt most helpless then, was when she found out the police were unable to make a highly-visited porn website take down her video.

For the next few months, her once-average life turned hellish, as she had recurring nightmares, while breaking down into tears at work, as well as underwent all sorts of emotional outbursts.

After months of mental torture, she decided to try her luck by emailing the website's administrators on her own, threatening them that she would report them to Interpol as she was a minor during the time of the video.

Fortunately for her, it worked.

On the investigation front, a breakthrough came when she found out from a friend that their ex-classmate was involved in a voyeur incident at her school.

He admitted to committing the offence when investigators called him up.

He was charged in court and sentenced to probation.

His lawyers argued that he was a minor, had a "clean record", and had purportedly "offered to help take down the video."

The next day after his sentencing, he attended his graduation ceremony at a local university.

She cried again when she saw the photos of him smiling with his family at the ceremony.

Authorities now empowered to order takedowns

Singapore has always taken a serious view and stance on online crimes committed on the internet.

In 2019, authorities busted the "SG Nasi Lemak" chat group, arresting multiple men, including administrators and users sharing content.

Even though many of them have been dealt with by the law, offending materials spread through the chat group are still circulating on the internet and will likely continue to circulate.

However, the Singapore government attempts to combat this by passing the Online Criminal Harms Act in July 2023, which empowers authorities with all-encompassing takedown powers in relation to online crimes, from scams to "revenge porn".

The law, which came into effect in February 2024, allows authorities to issue orders to content platforms to restrict Singapore users' exposure to criminal activities and to order online service providers to restrict Singapore users' access to non-compliant platforms.

The law also empowers authorities to require information from platforms and service providers to facilitate investigations and criminal proceedings.

It's illegal to possess and distribute porn

While it is not illegal in Singapore for adults to view pornographic content privately, the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) has restricted access to hundreds of porn websites.

It is, however, illegal to download, possess and circulate obscene films.

Under the Films Act, anyone who possesses obscene films can be fined up to S$20,000, jailed for up to six months, or both.

A person can be convicted of the offence even if they don't know if the films are obscene.

The maximum penalty doubles if the person possesses the films with prior knowledge that the content is obscene.

Anyone convicted of distributing obscene films can be fined up to S$80,000, jailed for up to two years, or both.

Mandatory jail term for child pornography offences

It is illegal to both view and possess child pornography in Singapore.

Such content is described as child abuse material under Singapore laws, which includes any kind of sexually explicit material depicting persons below 16 years of age.

A person guilty of gaining access to or possessing child abuse material in Singapore can be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to five years and shall also be liable to fine or caning.

It's illegal to access voyeur and revenge porn

Similar laws apply to voyeuristic or "intimate" materials — also colloquially known as "revenge porn" — which likely will cause humiliation or distress to persons depicted in them.

Any person guilty of possessing or gaining access to voyeuristic or intimate images or recordings shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to two years, or with a fine, or with both.

If the image or recording mentioned is of a person under 14 years of age, a person guilty of the offence will be punished with imprisonment for a term that may extend to two years and shall also be liable to fine or caning.

Any person guilty of distributing voyeuristic or intimate images or recordings shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to five years, or with fine, or with caning, or with any combination of such punishments.

If the distributed voyeuristic or intimate images depict persons below 14 years of age, offenders will be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to five years and shall also be liable to fine or to caning.

Editor's note: This article was co-authored with a female writer whose byline was removed for fear of reprisal.

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