'He was no silent watcher': Man gets 2 years' jail for downloading over 13,600 files of child pornography

SINGAPORE — A man whom the prosecution described as having an insatiable appetite for child pornography was jailed for two years on Tuesday (March 28) for downloading more than 13,600 files of child abuse material.

Ansari Abdul Amin, 36, who viewed sexual videos involving babies, girls and boys below 11 years old having sex with adults, pleaded guilty to one charge of possessing child abuse material.

He also traded such material between 2016 and 2021 by messaging unknown users on Telegram who publicly offered their collection of child pornography.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Bryan Wong said that between 2013 and 2014, Ansari began watching pornography on Telegram. He stored such photos and videos either by downloading them onto his mobile phone or importing them into his account on Mega, a cloud-based storage service.

He created his account in 2016 and, when it exceeded its allocated storage capacity, he created a second account in 2017.

Ansari first viewed child abuse material between 2014 and 2015, when he downloaded such material from Telegram chat groups.

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He deleted the files after viewing them about twice or thrice a week, for about 30 minutes per session, said DPP Wong.

He also retained copies of such material on his Mega accounts for his own viewing pleasure.

DPP Wong said Ansari would trade child abuse material with other users on Telegram, then delete his chat logs on the app.

Ansari was arrested on Oct 18, 2021, at his workplace, following a tip-off that he had downloaded child abuse material. It was not mentioned in court what he worked as.

A search of his Mega accounts revealed that at least 13,606 electronic files stored on his second account were child abuse material depicting children engaging in sexual activities and poses.

Seeking two to 2½ years' jail for Ansari, DPP Wong said the accused's depraved thirst for such material was insatiable and had spanned about five years.

He said Ansari was an active participant who fanned the highly sinister demand for child abuse material.

DPP Wong added: "He was no 'silent' watcher."

He said the file names of the material further underscore Ansari's complete lack of regard for the effects that child abuse material has on its victims.

"Many of these toddlers — some as young as three years old — were subjected to unspeakable acts," said the DPP.

He said the aggravating factors in this case include the large amount of child abuse material and number of videos that were deeply shocking in nature.

DPP Wong compared Ansari's case with previous cases and noted that although there was one instance — the case of Wong Ket Kok — that involved over 46,000 files, Ansari's case involved an element not featured in other cases.

This was that Ansari traded such material and took steps to conceal his conduct.

Pleading for a lighter sentence, Ansari said in mitigation: "I did not expect things to turn out like this."

When Senior District Judge Bala Reddy asked him what he meant by that, Ansari said: "At that time, I did not think about my parents. During that period, I was married, and I did not have any sexual activity with my wife."

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The judge stopped him and said: "This is sexual abuse of young children."

Ansari lowered his head and said he was remorseful for what he had done and that he was now divorced.

The judge said the sheer volume of exploitative material found in Ansari's possession showed his relentless pursuit of such material.

In a separate case last Friday, Muhammad Khairy Ariffin, 30, was sentenced to six months and six weeks' jail for possessing child pornography, among other offences.

He had owned a Twitter account containing sexually explicit material and made 816 obscene videos for sale. He was caught with 203 sexually explicit videos of children made by other people.

Those convicted of possessing or gaining access to child abuse material can be jailed for up to five years and fined or caned.

ALSO READ: Man who sexually abused nieces from adolescence to adulthood jailed almost 12 years

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