SINGAPORE – One of the four alleged offenders accused of transmitting obscene materials in messaging application Telegram was handed five more charges involving pornography on Tuesday (Oct 29).

This means, Liong Tianwei, 37, is now accused of nine counts of transmitting pornographic material by electronic means.

He allegedly transmitted the material through Telegram to a chat group called SG Nasi Lemak on eight separate occasions between June and October this year.

Only one of his nine charges did not mention the chat group.

According to his charge, he is said to have transmitted pornography on Telegram between January and October this year.

He was offered bail of $15,000 on Tuesday and will be back in court on Dec 10.

The other three alleged offenders are: Abdillah Sabaruddin, 17; Justin Lee Han Shi, 19, and Leonard Teo Min Xuan, 26.

All four were first taken to court on Oct 15.

Abdillah, Lee and Teo now face two charges each.

The two teenagers were later offered bail of $5,000 each and their cases have been adjourned to Nov 15.

Teo had not been offered bail and he will be back in court on Nov 5.

In an earlier statement, police said the alleged offenders were caught for their “suspected involvement in circulating obscene materials and promoting vice activities” through SG Nasi Lemak.

Officers from Ang Mo Kio Police Division managed to establish their identities and arrested them at various locations islandwide earlier this month.

More than 10 electronic devices, including a central processing unit, a laptop, a hard disk and several mobile phones, were seized as case exhibits.

The chat group was used as a platform for sharing obscene photos and videos of women in Singapore. The photos are said to include upskirt images.

Screenshots of the chat group suggest there were more than 44,000 members when it was still active.

According to Chinese evening daily Lianhe Wanbao, the chat group was set up more than a year ago, but its membership numbers spiked in recent months, with more people becoming aware of it. Members had to pay $30 as an “entry fee”.

For each count of transmitting obscene materials by electronic means, offenders can be jailed for up to three months and fined.

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