A woman had her spouse watch out for her while she livestreamed sex activities from a void deck in Singapore's Boon Lay for around two hours. People in the community saw both of them and reported them to the police.
On Thursday, February 20, Nguyen Thi Ngoc Lan, 31, and her husband Adrian Ching Kah Siang, 36, were each given a three-week jail sentence.
Ching, a Singaporean, entered a guilty plea to aiding and abetting Nguyen, a Vietnamese national, on one count of committing an obscene act in public. They both had one charge each, related to Nguyen's public nudity, which was taken into consideration for sentencing.
Performed sex activities in public
The court was informed that Nguyen would frequently livestream on TikTok and the Vietnamese gaming app MMlive. She chose to accept the challenge from her audience to perform sex activities live in public while wearing skimpy clothing in return for cash.
At around 1:17 pm on September 27, 2024, Nguyen sat at the void deck right in front of a lift while wearing a translucent outfit. She danced and engaged in a number of lewd behaviors while holding a cell phone on a tripod stand in front of her.
A 32-year-old man saw her and contacted his wife. After that, the pair recorded Nguyen as proof, and one of them dialed 911.
Later, Nguyen changed into an even more tiny kimono that showed off her privates when she moved. She persisted in engaging in lewd behavior in public. As Nguyen livestreamed, her husband Ching sat next to her to keep an eye on her and make sure nobody would interrupt.
At approximately 3:09 pm, the police showed up and took Nguyen into custody.
Void deck had lot of human circulation
The prosecution emphasized in court filings that the incident happened on a day when people were working and going to school, and that children might be going home at that time. According to the prosecution, the void deck had a lot of human circulation and was quite visible and accessible.
Nguyen first disputed all the activities and stated that she was merely dancing "in a sexy way" during her livestream.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Esther Lim said, as quoted by CNA, "Nguyen only admitted to her obscene act in a second statement when confronted with video evidence ... She also claimed that she 'reveal only a bit' (sic) despite the fact that she was almost nude."
Ching denied the acts as well, saying that he and Nguyen were fully clothed. He then attempted to explain that it shouldn't be deemed obscene to perform sexual acts when fully clothed. Furthermore, he asserted that Nguyen had unintentionally exposed herself.
DPP Lim requested that each accused person be imprisoned for three weeks and three days. Each person going home would be "forced to walk past her and be exposed to her obscene act" because Nguyen was sitting in a residential area in plain sight of the public, she told the court.
Lim added, "By committing her offences at the void deck, where residents necessarily had to walk past her to return or leave home, Nguyen essentially held the residents of the block hostage to witness her obscene act." She said Nguyen "effectively manufactured pornography in a public place".
Ching, while in-person mitigation, told the court, "From the bottom of my heart, I apologise to court and the people of Singapore. We recognise our mistake and we are very remorseful for our actions." He went on to say that the incident's media attention had caused "tremendous stress" for his family members.
Requested compassion and tolerance
Ching added, "(The) psychological stress, pain and suffering of my family is more than the punishment of a jail term, and it has affected my career and has a ripple effect on my future life as well."
He requested compassion and tolerance "instead of a jail term" from District Judge Jasvender Kaur. Through an interpreter, Nguyen explained that she was struggling financially and had to provide for her teenage daughter in Vietnam.
For his mother's sake and to "protect the dignity" of Nguyen, Ching also asked that the couple's identities be kept secret. However, the magistrate refused to do so.
Judge Kaur cited Nguyen's lengthy criminal history and the location's accessibility when imposing her punishment. She was certain that the offenses called for a jail sentence.
If found guilty of doing an indecent act, the offender faces a maximum sentence of three months in jail, a fine, or both.
