Jail, caning for man who had over 3,300 videos, 943 pictures of child pornography

SINGAPORE – A man who got to know about the dark web in 2017 and came across a child pornography forum was later caught with nearly 4,300 electronic files showing such content.

Over 3,300 videos and 943 pictures of child pornography were found in Sean Tan Wei Hao’s electronic devices and online storage accounts after police raided his home in October 2021.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Koh Yi Wen said that some of the videos showed girls who appeared to be around three years old.

Tan, 26, was sentenced to two years and four months’ jail and three strokes of the cane on Feb 21.

He had pleaded guilty to one count each of being in possession of the electronic files and attempting to distribute child abuse material by exchanging web links with another person.

DPP Koh told the court that Tan had gone online to search for sexually explicit material involving children and found out that there were other netizens who shared such content.

The prosecutor added: “Over a period of five years from 2017 to 2021, the offender downloaded child abuse material and stored it on his personal electronic devices and online... storage accounts.”

On Oct 9 and 10, 2021, he contacted four unknown users of messaging platform Kik in an attempt to exchange child abuse material.

He then had a text conversation with one of them, identified in court documents as “X1”, and the pair attempted to exchange such material by sending each other web links.

However, X1 repeatedly sent Tan web links connected to the latter’s own online storage account.

DPP Koh said that Tan had previously shared these links in other online group chats.

Tan ended his conversation when he realised that X1 did not have any other web links to exchange.

Court documents did not disclose how Tan’s offences were uncovered but police later raided his home on Oct 12, 2021.