SINGAPORE: Online personality Kurt Tay was sentenced to 14 months in jail and fined S$3,000 on Wednesday (April 22) for distributing intimate material and sending threatening messages.
He will spend an additional 10 days in jail as he was unable to pay the fine.
The 43-year-old, whose real name is Tay Foo Wei, is known for his antics including carrying a World Wrestling Entertainment belt and getting breast implants.
He pleaded guilty to one count of distributing intimate videos and photos of a woman, and another charge for making threatening, abusive or insulting communication. Nine other charges were taken into consideration during sentencing.
The court heard that Tay contacted the woman in June 2023, after he learnt that she was providing bondage and discipline, dominance and submission (BDSM) services.
In July 2023, the woman asked Tay to perform several degrading tasks.
Between July and August 2023, Tay filmed himself performing them and sent the videos to the woman, who uploaded some of them to her social media feeds.
Tay had told the woman she could post the images and videos, but only if his face and tattoos were concealed, to keep this from his wife.
Between Aug 11 and Aug 17, 2023, Tay asked her to post those images and videos of him on social media, as he enjoyed public humiliation. He also sent her an obscene photo of his upper body.
On Aug 21, 2023, an acquaintance told Tay one of the videos had been leaked. The acquaintance sent him a screenshot where his face and an arm tattoo were partially visible.
Tay confronted the woman, who denied leaking the video, saying she had lost her phone.
On Sept 2, 2023, Tay received an 18-second clip of the video. He confronted the woman again. She claimed Tay was the one who asked her to post the video.
She threatened to post the full video and send it to Tay’s wife. She later apologised to him for leaking the video and agreed not to post anything further.
In September 2023, Tay received an intimate video of the woman on Telegram, depicting her performing a sex act. Tay sent the video to the woman, who told him to block the sender.
On Sept 7, 2023, Tay asked the woman to have an in-person session with him. But they argued about his leaked video and photo, and she told Tay that they should stop communicating with each other, or she would post his other videos.
Tay later said his wife received a letter from someone containing a leaked photo and a screenshot of the video. Humiliating images of him were also sent to a WhatsApp group of Singapore Security Officers and to his then employers.
Court documents did not state when Tay’s wife received the letter.
On Oct 18, 2023, Tay posted threatening and vulgar messages in a Telegram group which had about 247 members. Tay asked how much it would cost to hire a killer and said he wanted (the woman) to die.
Her friends, who were in the chat group, showed her the messages, and she made a police report.
Tay sent her intimate video and photo to the same chat group multiple times on Oct 27, 2023.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Dan Pan said the woman contemplated seeking psychiatric treatment.
The DPP sought a sentence of at least 16 months’ jail and a $4,000 fine for Tay, arguing the images depicted the woman engaged in acts of a highly intimate and sexual nature.
Tay’s lawyer from the Public Defender’s Office asked for a jail term of at least 10 months and a $2,000 fine, saying his offences arose from an online relationship that soured.
His lawyer said Tay was not seeking to excuse his behaviour and had lost his job as a security officer.
In sentencing, District Judge Lee Lit Cheng said: “Offenders who resort to criminal acts to address perceived injustice will be firmly dealt with.”
For making threatening, abusive or insulting communication, an offender can be fined up to $5,000.
Those convicted of distributing intimate images or recordings can be jailed for up to five years, fined, caned, or receive any combination of such punishments. – The Straits Times/ANN
