• Mohamed Sharizad Mohamed Samsuri targeted his victim for eight months
• He first noticed her in 2009, but began stalking her in a sustained manner from 2016
• He created several fake Facebook accounts under female names
• He admitted his crimes to the police eight months after being first interviewed

SINGAPORE — Infatuated with a woman living in the same public housing block as his grandmother, Mohamed Sharizad Mohamed Samsuri tried various ways to reach her.

He posed as women on Facebook to harass her and send her photographs of what was ostensibly her underwear.

Eventually, he got her mobile phone number and repeatedly called her.

Even after she filed a police report, he sent her threatening text messages on WhatsApp, calling her denigrating names and asking for oral sex.

For his “relentless” stalking offences, which took place over a period of about eight months, District Judge Marvin Bay sentenced Sharizad on Tuesday (Aug 4) to 19 weeks, or about five months, behind bars.

The 38-year-old man, who is married and worked as a technician, pleaded guilty last month to one unlawful stalking charge under the Protection from Harassment Act and a second charge of possessing 732 obscene films.

These were films he had downloaded from pornographic websites for his personal viewing.

He was acquitted on a second stalking charge, where he was accused of posting photographs of the victim and of her underwear on sex-themed online forum Sammyboy in 2012.

‘BIG MISTAKE’ TO IGNORE HIS MESSAGES

The court heard that Sharizad first noticed the victim, then aged 27, when she moved into the same block of flats as his grandmother in 2009.

He said that he found her attractive and began trying, unsuccessfully, to get her attention. Over time, he grew infatuated with her.

From November 2016 onwards, he began stalking her.

He discovered her name, then created fake Facebook accounts using female names to try to communicate with her and get her to meet him.

The first time he tried befriending her on Facebook, under the moniker “Lyndsey Callahan”, the victim simply ignored his request.

But after she and her husband received a series of requests from other accounts, all bearing the same name and profile photograph, she contacted Facebook's administrators, who deactivated the accounts.

Undeterred, Sharizad sent the victim numerous messages between Nov 10 and 28, 2016 — again through the “Lyndsey Callahan” Facebook account.

He told her that he had her sex photos and that she was sexy, and asked her for sex. 

He also told her that she was “making a big mistake” by ignoring his messages.

When she did not respond, Sharizad used accounts under the names of “Pei Ling” and “Rachelle Maddison” to send her photographs. 

One was of her getting into her car, while another was of a red undergarment, which she believed was hers. 

She eventually made a police report at the Woodlands West Neighbourhood Police Centre on Nov 29, 2016, but no action was taken at the time.

ESCALATED HIS ACTS

The police first interviewed Sharizad in July 2017 after the victim filed three more police reports because the stalking kept getting worse.

Around April 2017, Sharizad had created another fake Facebook account, this time using the name of one of the victim’s friends. He then sent her a friend request and asked for her mobile phone number, saying that he had lost it.

She fell for the trick and gave him her number. He then called her twice using his workplace phone and a public pay phone.

The first time, he said her name and told her that he was “smelling her panties now”. She told him off and warned him that she would report him to the police, but he continued telling her she was sexy.

The second time, she recognised his voice and hung up immediately. 

But he continued calling and after several calls, she asked who he was. He said that he was her stalker and that he had her nude photos.

He threatened to post these photos on social media if she did not meet him, but she retorted that he was pathetic and said that she had already reported him to the police.

Between June 12 and 14 in 2017, he sent her numerous threatening and harassing WhatsApp messages.

This included one that said: “I’ll give you all my collection of you… all your videos and pics, everything… If u just meet me once.”

Finally, he told her that she had half an hour to give him what he wanted, or she would “regret this day for the rest of your life”.

He also threatened to upload videos of her in the nude and post her address, photo, mobile phone number and particulars online, with a caption saying that she offered sexual services.

When police began interviewing Sharizad, he denied the accusations, admitting only some eight months later that he had committed the offences.

For unlawful stalking, he could have been jailed up to a year or fined up to S$5,000, or both.

For possessing obscene films, he could have been fined up to S$500 for each film, jailed up to six months, or both.

CORRECTION: An earlier version of the article stated that a charge of posting the victim's photos on an online forum was considered for Sharizad's sentencing. This is incorrect. He was acquitted of this charge. We are sorry for the error.