20-year-old man exchanged child pornography videos with like-minded people on social media
Shaffiq Alkhatib
The Straits Times
February 4, 2025
A man had 10 sexually explicit videos of children in his electronic devices, and one of the clips showed a girl who appeared to be between five and seven years old.
The other nine videos in Mohamed Danial Rafiuddin Mohamed Rashid's possession showed boys who appeared to be between six and 14 years old.
On Feb 4, the 20-year-old pleaded guilty to one count of having the video clips in his iPad and mobile phone.
He had told investigators that he was first exposed to child pornography sometime in 2016, when he came across a Facebook group containing videos of children engaging in sexual acts.
He obtained copies of such videos by screen recording and saving them in his electronic devices.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Samuel Chew told the court: "The accused also admitted that he traded and exchanged child pornography videos with other like-minded individuals on Telegram, WhatsApp and Facebook.
"The accused admitted to doing so... until a few weeks prior to his arrest (in 2023), and that he had traded with around 10 to 15 individuals."
Without revealing details, the prosecutor said that in December 2023, the police received a tip-off that Danial was suspected to be in possession of child abuse materials.
Officers raided his home later that month and arrested him. They also seized his electronic devices, including his mobile phone and his iPad.
On Feb 4, the court called for reports to assess his suitability for both probation and reformative training.
Young offenders ordered to undergo reformative training are detained in a centre to undergo a strict regimen that can include foot drills and counselling.
Danial will be sentenced on March 18.
