Man admits to harassing ex-lover and posting fake ads of her asking for sex
He harassed his ex-lover through texts and calls after the woman cut off contact with him.
Tay Ling Choon, 47, even dragged his son into the row, claiming that the woman’s son had threatened to beat up his son.
In the same month, Tay posted photos of the woman on Facebook and classifieds website Locanto, claiming that she was looking for men to have sex with.
On Monday (14 January), Tay admitted to one count of theft and one count of unlawful stalking of the woman. One unrelated charge of possessing an airsoft gun with seven pellets were taken into consideration for sentencing.
Tay’s sentencing was adjourned as he had experienced fits and was admitted to the hospital.
Both Tay and the 40-year-old woman – who cannot be named due to a gag order – are divorcees.
The two got to know each other at a parenting workshop in November 2015. They exchanged contact details and subsequently began a sexual relationship.
When the woman ended her relationship with Tay in January 2016, Tay began sending her harassing messages, including threatening to commit suicide.
He sent her hundreds of text messages and made numerous phone calls in which he threatened to disclose her private life. He blamed the woman for worsening his depression and even impersonated his mother to tell the woman that he committed suicide.
He also threatened to “expose” her to her ex-husband and look for her daughter at school. In some texts, he directed vulgarities at her, and even told the woman he had photos of their sexual encounters.
The woman lodged a Magistrate’s Complaint in March 2016. After Tay received a letter from the Community Mediation Centre, he began calling the woman a “prostitute” in his text messages to her.
The pair attended a mediation session on 20 April that year where they signed an agreement not to contact or harm each other. But barely half an hour after the session, Tay started calling the woman again.
In the same month, Tay told his son’s secondary school that the woman’s son had threatened to beat up his son. A teacher later found that the allegation was false.
In April, Tay began posted photos of the woman along with her contact number on his Facebook page, claiming that she was looking for men to have sex with.
The following month, the woman received WhatsApp messages from two men asking about sexual services. Both claimed that they had obtained her contact number from Tay’s Facebook account.
In June, the woman began receiving sexual enquiries from men who claimed they received her contact number from an advertisement on Locanto. The woman traced the source of the phone number to an account with Tay’s profile photo.
She filed three separate police reports from April to June.
After another Facebook post of the same nature, the woman again lodged another police report in September 2016.
While under investigation for the harassment offences and on bail in April last year, Tay stole two grey mobile phone pouches from a shop in Serangoon, Nex.
Asking for at least 10 months’ jail for Tay, the prosecution told the court that Tay had a string of at least 11 theft offences going as far back as 2005.
Tay suffers from several mental conditions, including major depressive disorder, borderline personality disorder, and antisocial personality disorder, the prosecution noted. But these did not have a causal link to his offences, it added.
Sadhana Rai, Tay’s pro-bono lawyer, told the court that Tay started having psychiatric problems after discovering that his ex-wife had cheated on him. His health worsened and he was admitted to the hospital for repeated bouts of fits.
Tay’s case will be heard again on 28 January.
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