Jailed: Woman who blackmailed ex-boyfriend with nude photos and police report threat
SINGAPORE — A woman who threatened to file a police report against her ex-boyfriend for molest and then later threatened to disseminate nude photos of him was jailed for six months on Tuesday (19 October).
Using these threats, the 28-year-old Malaysian woman then extorted more than $10,000 from the 34-year-old man over a year.
The former security officer pleaded guilty to one count of criminal intimidation, with another count of the same nature considered for her sentencing.
The couple began dating in 2017. The woman claimed that her boyfriend had cheated on her during their relationship before they broke up in August 2018.
After they broke up, the woman repeatedly messaged her ex-boyfriend as she was angry with him. She demanded that the victim pay for her monthly rental fees and medical fees as a form of compensation.
She informed the victim that if he failed to do so, she would lodge a police report stating that the victim had molested her, intending to cause the victim alarm.
Out of fear, the victim agreed to pay the woman monthly. He kept paying until he could not keep up with the payments, and told the woman so. By then, he had transferred $10,720 to the woman from August 2018 to July 2019.
When the payments stopped, the woman became furious and threatened to spread the victim’s nude photographs, which she had taken when they were still dating.
The man made a police report on 8 July last year.
The woman’s lawyer Audrey Koo sought five months’ jail, pleading for the judge to consider that the accused and victim were going through “a tumultuous relationship that soured in one of the worst ways possible”.
She said that her client’s boyfriend had begged for the woman’s forgiveness and promised never to cheat on her again. He even promised to marry her and pay for her personal expenses, including monthly expenses. However, he reneged on his promises.
“Our client was really overcome with emotions at that point of time and felt that…the victim had owed her in a sense. While now she has moved on from this relationship and has plans to get married next year, she does feel remorseful,” said Koo.
Koo maintained that the woman did not have any nude photos of the victim, and that she was making empty threats. “Our client was simply upset with (her ex-boyfriend) at the material time and her anger get the better of her,” she said.
The woman, now unemployed, is due to register her marriage in February next year. The prosecution had sought six to nine months’ jail.
For criminal intimidation, the woman could have been jailed up to two years, or fined, or both.
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