27-year-old pleads guilty to being involved in SG Nasi Lemak chat group that hosted obscene images and videos

SINGAPORE - A 27-year-old Singaporean on Tuesday (May 4) admitted to his role in running the SG Nasi Lemak chat group, a platform on Telegram that hosted obscene photos and videos, many of which are believed to involve women in Singapore.

Leonard Teo Min Xuan was one of the group's administrators and the last of four men to admit to being part of the chat group, which had 44,000 members at its peak.

He pleaded guilty to offences, including transmitting obscene material via electronic means.

The four Singaporeans were arrested in October 2019 in islandwide raids after a series of police reports.

The other three offenders had pleaded guilty earlier.

Two of them - Justin Lee Han Shi, then 20, and an 18-year-old youth - were placed on probation.

The teenager cannot be named under the Children and Young Persons Act. He was 17 at the time of his offence in October 2019.

The third offender - Liong Tianwei, 39, who was also an administrator of the chat group - was sentenced to nine weeks' jail and a fine of $26,000 in March this year.

Liong had pleaded guilty to three counts of distributing obscene material, two counts of facilitating the provision of sexual services, and one count of being in possession of obscene films.

Another eight similar charges were considered during his sentencing.

The Telegram chat group was created in November 2018 and used as a platform to share obscene photos and videos.

It reportedly promoted vice activities as well.

Police launched the raids after multiple reports were made against SG Nasi Lemak from March to October 2019.

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On Tuesday, Teo's lawyer Ashwin Ganapathy told District Judge Kessler Soh that his client has a history of major depressive disorder.

He said Teo's condition contributed to his offences.

The judge has called for a report to assess Teo's suitability for a mandatory treatment order (MTO).

Offenders given an MTO will have to undergo treatment to address their mental issues in lieu of jail time.

Teo, who is now out on bail of $10,000, will be sentenced on June 3.

For transmitting obscene material via electronic means, an offender can be jailed for up to three months and fined.

This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.