Music composer who had 1.37TB of porn and child abuse materials 'now regarded as a role model': Lawyer
Christine Tan
The Straits Times
Oct 8, 2025
A freelance music composer, who was caught with over 1,200 photos and videos of child sexual abuse material, has been sentenced to 22 months' jail and two strokes of the cane.
Iliya Zaki Aziz, 34, had searched the internet for material involving underage girls and even translated his search terms into multiple languages.
He used the dark web to access underage pornography and also joined Telegram group chats that shared materials from sources including OnlyFans before he was arrested in October 2021.
On Oct 8, Iliya pleaded guilty to one count of possessing child abuse material. Two other charges of possessing voyeuristic images and recordings, as well as obscene films, were taken into consideration for his sentencing.
In court, Iliya's lawyer Ho Chee Jia said he has since turned to religion to change his life.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Hidayat Amir told the court that in 2020, Iliya developed an interest in girls aged between 15 and 16.
He searched for porn on the internet, including those involving underage girls who looked mature, and translated the search terms into Thai, Vietnamese, Russian and Indonesian.
Iliya also created accounts on various social media platforms and an account on the Telegram messaging platform to join group chats where members shared pornographic materials.
As he was unable to access underage porn through conventional methods, he researched on the dark web and eventually gained access to child abuse materials.
In 2021, he chanced upon several web links to underage and child sexual abuse content while he was searching for porn. He clicked on one of the links, paid a subscription fee with cryptocurrency, and downloaded pornographic material onto his desktop computer.
Iliya also paid a monthly subscription fee for an online storage service to store the materials he had downloaded.
On Oct 7, 2021, officers from the Specialised Crime Branch of the Criminal Investigation Department - acting on information gathered - raided Iliya's HDB unit and seized his devices.
He was found with 1.37 terabytes of pornographic and child abuse materials, with a total of 19,266 images and videos.
Of these, 1,249 were child sex abuse materials, 697 were voyeuristic in nature and 17,320 were obscene films.
An Institute of Mental Health assessment found that Iliya suffered from persistent depressive disorder, but there was no contributory link between his condition and the offence.
Noting that Iliya's capacity for self-control and restraint was not impaired, DPP Hidayat said: "The accused's pornography consumption was a habit and did not amount to a mental disorder."
Asking for between 24 and 27 months' jail, with three to four strokes of the cane, the prosecution highlighted the physical and psychological harm caused to the children in such material.
"There is real harm to the victims whose abuse forms the content of child abuse material, who are losing their childhood, their innocence and, ultimately, their human dignity," said the prosecution in its sentencing submissions.
Iliya's lawyer, Ms Ho, asked for 12 months' jail with no caning for her client, arguing that Iliya had downloaded content without direct knowledge that it contained child sexual abuse material.
"He does not belong to the predatory group looking for child sexual abuse material in the particularly vulnerable prepubescent age range," she said.
The lawyer added that the criminal charge was a wake-up call for Iliya, who has since gone for counselling and volunteers at a mosque.
"In his counsellor's testimonial, (Iliya) is now widely regarded as a role model for resilience, repentance and reform," said Ms Ho, adding that her client intends to study for a diploma in Islamic studies and has plans to marry his fiancee.
For possessing child sexual abuse material, Iliya could have been jailed for up to five years, fined or caned.
