Porn in your mobile phone? It's an offence

http://thecourtroom.stomp.com.sg/stomp/courtroom/case_of_the_day/450936/porn_in_your_mobile_phone_its_an_offence.html

09 Sep 2010

SOURCE: The New Paper

Having obscene DVDs in your possession is an offence – people know that.


But what about having an obscene film in your mobile phone, laptop or iPad even? Answer: It is still an offence.

The court was told that Tan Hiap Hua, 49, had been taken to the lock-up at the Police Cantonment complex on Feb 10 this year as he was under investigation for other offences.

Police officer Wong Pang Wai was interviewing him then and took his mobile phone from him.

On checking Tan’s mobile phone, the officer found 38 obscene video clips on the phone and seized it.

The video clips were transferred to a CD-ROM and sent to the Board of Film Censors for analysis. The board later confirmed that the films were obscene.

Tan admitted to possessing the obscene films and acknowledged that he knew it was an offence.

In his mitigation, his lawyer, Mr Tan Hsuan Boon, said that Tan had downloaded the 38 obscene films from the Internet onto his mobile phone for his private viewing.

Tanwas sentenced to three months’ jail.

Primary concern – public

In sentencing, district judge Liew Thiam Leng said that the primary concern in sentencing for such cases was the protection of the public.

The type of sentence will depend on the circumstances, the quality, quantity and the nature of the films and whether there is any element of commercial gain.

Said the judge: “A non-custodial sentence is reserved for isolated offences where the number of films are small (usually less than 20), and it is for personal use, where there is no commercial element and the accused has pleaded guiltyand is a first offender.”

Tan was found with 38 such clips, which the court noted was a large number. And it was also unusual to store so many on a mobile phone for private viewing.

The court also noted that Tan had a long list of antecedents which included possession of obscene films, theft, cheating, housebreaking as well as a series of traffic offences.

Added the judge: “It is clear that the accused is still committing offences despite having gone through corrective training for five years.

“The court took into consideration that the accused had a total of 38 obscene films in his possession, as well as his previous antecedents.”

For possession of obscene films under the Film Act, Tan could have been fined upto $500 for each film and jailed six months.

Tanis appealing against his jail sentence.