Telegram Group Chats Suspected of Circulating Photos of S’porean Women and Schoolgirls Without Consent Face Police Investigation

By
Shawn Ambrose
-

For Singaporeans, group chats on Telegram are useful and even necessary to join for three main reasons:

  1. Discounts
  2. Promotions
  3. Closing down sales

But not all groups on the platform are harmless and innocent.

Before October 2019, Nasi Lemak was simply a beloved national dish that many residents here enjoyed eating.

But then it became synonymous with creepy guys who enjoy exploiting women. 

For those who don’t know, the authorities discovered around that time that users on a Telegram group called “SG Nasi Lemak” were sharing obscene pictures and videos of girls without their consent.

The group’s admin has since been jailed, but now it seems that the group was just one of many on the platform.

Telegram Group Chats Suspected of Circulating Photos of S’porean Women and Schoolgirls Without Consent Face Police Investigation

The police are investigating several Telegram chat groups after they were reported for sharing photos and videos of Singaporean women and schoolgirls—some obscene—without their consent.

Some of the material circulated on these chat groups include screengrabs of women’s social media accounts and TikTok clips of girls in school uniform. Some posts even include their personal information.

These group chats, believe it or not, have thousands of followers each.

The police confirmed on Tuesday (30 Mar) that a report has been lodged and that investigations are ongoing.

NUS Undergrad Started Petition to Shut Down Groups Sharing Obscene Material

The police report was made by National University of Singapore (NUS) political science undergraduate Nisha Rai, who also started an online petition calling for the authorities to shut these groups down.

As of writing (31 Mar), the petition (which you can sign here) has garnered 1,704 signatures.

Rai discovered these group chats after coming across a Twitter thread showing the groups’ activities.

Upset that the material seemed to have been shared without the women’s consent, she reported the issue to the police.

The 21-year-old is also working with 20 other individuals to track down victims and offer their support to them.

AWARE: Number of Groups Not Surprising Given How Only a Few SG Nasi Lemak Members Were Arrested

In response to the news, the Association of Women for Action and Research (AWARE) said the spate of such groups is not surprising.

“After all, SG Nasi Lemak at its peak had around 44,000 members, only a handful of whom were arrested,” it said in a Facebook post.

“It seemed safe to assume that those who had not suffered any repercussions would simply continue elsewhere.”

AWARE added that its sexual assault care centre has seen a rise in the number of cases of technology-facilitated sexual violence, which includes sexual voyeurism and the non-consensual sharing of images.

140 such cases were reported to the organisation in 2019.

Unbeknownst to many, you don’t actually have to share such material to get into trouble with the authorities.

Those who are simply found to possess obscene material can be jailed for up to six months or fined up to S$20,000, or both.

Feature Image: Allmy / Shutterstock.com

Watch this for a complete summary of what REALLY happened to Qoo10, and why it's like a K-drama:

Read Also:

Advertisements
 
Shawn Ambrose
Email: [email protected]