Jail, caning for man who had over 300 videos, photos of child pornography
Gan Qi Xuan, 26, had downloaded such content from the Dark Web. ST PHOTO: KELVIN CHNG
Jail, caning for man who had over 300 videos, photos of child pornography
SINGAPORE – A man who was found with 178 videos and 153 still images of child pornography in his possession was sentenced to a year and nine months' jail, and two strokes of the cane on June 19.
Gan Qi Xuan, 26, had earlier downloaded such content from the Dark Web before categorising his collection on his personal electronic devices and online platforms.
Court documents did not disclose how his offence came to light, but he was nabbed in a raid at his home in August 2023.
On Aug 19, 2024, he pleaded guilty to one count of being in possession of child pornography.
In earlier proceedings, Deputy Public Prosecutor Koh Yi Wen told the court that Gan got to know about the Dark Web around 2015 and found a forum on child pornography on it.
Initially, he did not download anything during his first visit as he was wary of viruses. But curiosity got the better of him about three months later, and he decided to download such videos and images from the dark web, including child abuse material.
Soon after, Gan began to access the Dark Web regularly to download pornographic material, including those involving children.
He would view the videos and images he downloaded before sorting them into different folders on his laptop.
When the device ran out of storage space, he transferred all the material to his Google Drive account.
His laptop broke down in mid-2021, and he replaced it with a central processing unit later that year.
During this time, he also created a cloud storage account to store his pornographic material as the platform provided more free storage space than Google Drive.
Without revealing details, defence lawyer Teo Choo Kee told the court on June 19 that Gan has lost his place in a university.
Mr Teo also said that his client has stopped viewing such child abuse material by 2021 but still had files containing them in his possession when he was caught.
Gan is also extremely remorseful for what he had done, the court heard.
Shaffiq Alkhatib is The Straits Times' court correspondent, covering mainly criminal cases heard at the State Courts.
Join ST's WhatsApp Channel and get the latest news and must-reads.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Straits Times
8 hours ago
- Straits Times
Turkey detains prominent journalist for allegedly threatening Erdogan
ANKARA - Turkish authorities detained prominent independent journalist Fatih Altayli on Saturday over social media comments allegedly threatening President Tayyip Erdogan, the Istanbul prosecutor's office said. Altayli, who has more than 1.51 million subscribers on his YouTube channel, posted a video on Friday referencing an unnamed poll showing 70% of Turks opposed Erdogan ruling for life, saying this would "never be allowed" by the Turkish people. Altayli also referenced past Ottoman rulers in his comments, saying people had "drowned", "killed", or "assassinated them in the past." His comments drew backlash from an Erdogan aide, Oktay Saral, who said on X that Altayli's "water was boiling". In a statement, the Istanbul prosecutor's office said the comments from Altayli "contained threats" against Erdogan, and said an investigation has been launched against him. Legal representation for Altayli could not immediately be reached for comment. Altayli's detention comes amid a series of detentions of opposition figures in recent months, including the arrest in March of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu who is Erdogan's main political rival. The main opposition CHP says the detentions and arrests of its members, along with other opposition members and journalists or media personalities, is a politicised move by the government to muzzle dissent and eliminate electoral challenges to Erdogan. The government denies these claims, saying the judiciary and Turkey's courts are independent. Turkish authorities have in the past carried out widespread detentions and arrests against opposition politicians, namely pro-Kurdish local authorities. More than 150 people jailed so far over what Erdogan's government says is a ring of corruption that the CHP denies. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
13 hours ago
- Straits Times
Suspected suicide bomber kills 12 in Nigeria's Borno state
MAIDUGURI, Nigeria - A suspected female suicide bomber killed at least 12 people and injured several others at a fish market on Friday night in Nigeria's northeastern Borno state, police said on Saturday. Borno state police spokesperson Nahum Kenneth Daso said in a statement that a woman with an improvised explosive device strapped to her body, infiltrated a crowd at the fish market before detonating it among civilians. Daso said those injured were taken to hospital. Local residents said at least 30 people were injured. Borno state is the heartland of an insurgency - primarily driven by the Islamist armed group Boko Haram - that has been raging for the past 16 years, killing thousands and displacing at least 2 million people, according to aid agencies. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
19 hours ago
- Straits Times
Syrian security forces detain cousin of toppled leader Assad
FILE PHOTO: A wall painted with a damaged drawing of ousted Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is pictured in the al-Qadam neighbourhood in Damascus, Syria, March 26, 2025. REUTERS/Firas Makdesi/File Photo Syria's security forces have detained Wassim al-Assad, a cousin of toppled leader Bashar al-Assad, state news agency SANA said on Saturday. Wassim al-Assad was sanctioned by the United States in 2023 for leading a paramilitary force backing Assad's army and for trafficking drugs including the amphetamine-like drug captagon. Bashar al-Assad was toppled by an Islamist-led rebel insurgency in December and fled to Moscow. Most of his family members and inner circle either fled Syria or went underground. Syria's new security forces have been pursuing members of the former administration - mainly those involved in the feared security branches accused of rights abuses. Rights groups have called for a fully-fledged transitional justice process to hold them to account. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
