SINGAPORE — A 68-year-old general manager of a contact lens company was fined S$5,500 on Tuesday (March 30) for sending two pornographic videos to his female subordinate through WhatsApp.

The divorced Singaporean, who has two adult children, cannot be named due to a court order to protect his victim’s identity. She is now aged 27 and he was her supervisor at the firm, which also cannot be named.

He pleaded guilty to two counts of transmitting an obscene video via electronic means.

He also faced five charges of molesting the victim, such as by stroking her thigh and hugging her, but the prosecution withdrew these charges as they had been compounded.

Under the Criminal Procedure Code, this means that he was effectively acquitted of the offences after making monetary compensation or offering an apology to the victim, or both. Offenders can also give an undertaking not to repeat the offending behaviour.

The court heard that the man’s victim began working for him in 2016.

On June 7, 2018, she told him in a WhatsApp text message that she would not be going to work that day.

He did not acknowledge this, but instead sent her an almost seven-minute-long video an hour later. It showed a nude man and woman having sex on a stage while surrounded by an audience.

The victim felt uncomfortable and did not reply.

Three days later, without any prompting or context, he sent her another lewd three-minute-long video that appeared to be from a Japanese game show. 

She did not reply again.

Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Sarah Siaw sought a fine of S$6,000, noting that the man was considerably older than the victim. She has since left the company.

His lawyer, Ms Audrey Koo from Populus Law Corporation, asked for a lower fine of S$4,000, saying that it was his first known brush with the law and he was unlikely to reoffend given his advanced age.

He has also actively assisted in community campaigns and was genuinely remorseful, Ms Koo said.

“People have pointed out that for 36 years, he has been seen as a caring mentor and understanding manager and trustworthy friend. He provides guidance to staff and earns praise from employees. This was a lapse of judgement,” the lawyer added.

When District Judge Jill Tan asked why he was only charged mid-last year, DPP Siaw responded that investigations into the molestation allegations were required.

In sentencing the man, District Judge Tan told him: “(The victim) is some 10 years younger than your youngest child and it was indeed a serious lapse of judgement for you to have acted in this way towards her.”

She also noted that he had appeared emboldened after the victim did not respond to the first video.

For each charge, he could have been fined or jailed up to three months, or both.