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Man jailed for sending 6 lewd images to 'Sam’s lots of CB Collection' Telegram group

A hooded man looking at his laptop in the dark
A hooded man looking at his laptop in the dark. (PHOTO: Getty Images)

SINGAPORE — A man who sent six obscene pictures to some 25,000 members in the Telegram chat group “Sam’s lots of CB collection” was jailed for eight weeks and fined $22,500 on Monday (24 January).

Tan Yeow Chong, 40, also had more than 17,000 sexually explicit films and more than 5,500 indecent pictures in two hard drives, which were seized from his home upon investigations.

Tan, a logistics coordinator, had downloaded the media for his own consumption.

Tan pleaded guilty to two out of four counts of transmitting or possessing obscene pictures, and one out of three counts of possessing obscene films. The remaining charges, including possessing 12 lewd images and 30 obscene videos in his mobile phone, were considered for his sentencing.

Out of the four men including Tan who were charged over “Sam’s lots of CB collection”, two others – group administrator Lincoln Anthony Fernandez, 31, and Yee Wing Kay, 47 – have also been jailed and fined while Wong Ming Jun, 28, has yet to be dealt with.

"Sam’s lots of CB collection” was linked to an adult forum on which users would discuss matters of a sexual nature. Tan joined the group as a member in late 2017.

On 24 October 2019, a 23-year-old woman lodged a police report stating that members of the group had shared explicit photos of girls.

On 4 November 2019, while at home, Tan transmitted six indecent photos of women to “Sam’s lots of CB collection”. He obtained the photos by downloading them on the internet.

Two days later, the police visited Tan’s residence at Tiong Bahru at about 10.30pm and seized his two hard drives. Forensic examinations of the devices revealed 17,219 indecent films and 5,537 lewd pictures.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Bryont Chin sought eight to 10 weeks’ jail for Tan and a fine of between $21,500 and $22,000.

Tan’s lawyer Wasiur Rehman said that his client did not intend to commercialise or profit from his actions.

In mitigation, the lawyer said Tan was supporting his mother and was a hardworking man well-liked by his superiors, who still accepted him as a worker in their company even after he was charged.

The lawyer sought a deferment of the jail term, as Tan’s company was facing a manpower crunch and needed Tan.

For possessing obscene films, Tan could have been jailed up to six months or fined up to $20,000, or both. For transmitting transmitting obscene materials or possessing an obscene image, he could have been jailed up to three months, fined, or both.

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