SINGAPORE — A 20-year-old man on Friday (Sept 18) became the first person to admit to his involvement in the now-defunct SG Nasi Lemak Telegram chat group, where obscene videos and photos of mostly Singaporean girls were shared. 

Justin Lee Han Shi, a Singaporean, pleaded guilty in a district court to one charge of possessing 462 obscene films.

Two other charges of transmitting pornographic material and possessing obscene images will be taken into consideration for sentencing on Oct 16.

District Judge A Sangeetha called for a report to assess if Lee is suitable for probation. This is usually offered to offenders under 21 and allows them to continue with their education or employment while serving their sentences.

Lee, represented by lawyer Ramesh Tiwary, is currently out on bail. 

Along with Lee, three others were charged last year in relation to this chat group — Liong Tianwei, 38; Leonard Teo Min Xuan, 27; and a 17-year-old teenager whose identity is protected by the Children and Young Persons Act. 

Their cases are still pending.

Liong and Teo are accused of being the group’s administrators. It is no longer accessible but had more than 40,000 members when it was still active. 

The SG Nasi Lemak chat group was thrust into the spotlight late last year when several women discovered their photos there.

The court heard on Friday that the police received information about the group on March 19 last year.

On Oct 14, police officers raided Lee’s home and seized several electronic devices, including mobile phones and a laptop.

He also admitted to being a member of SG Nasi Lemak.

When forensic examiners went through his devices, they extracted 1,131 images from his hard disk and 790 videos from one of his mobile phones and his laptop.

A total of 462 videos and 556 images were classified as obscene.

Lee admitted that he downloaded all the images and videos online and stored them for his personal consumption.

Between January 2019 and the day he was arrested, he forwarded obscene videos to other members in the SG Nasi Lemak chat group upon request.

Adult offenders convicted of transmitting or possessing obscene material can be jailed up to three months, fined or receive both penalties.

Those convicted of possessing obscene films can be jailed up to six months, fined up to S$20,000 or receive both penalties.