Man blackmailed by FB ‘friend’ with nude pics

PETALING JAYA: A moment of thrill turned into a lasting feeling of regret for a man who was blackmailed by an online acquaintance he had just met.

The 35-year-old man, who wanted to be known as David Liong, said he got in touch with a man who introduced himself as a freelance model, 24-year-old John Lee (pic) on Facebook.

Liong said that incident happened on Aug 23 and they hit it off instantly.

The next day at about 1.30am, Liong and Lee were busy engaging in a video call via Skype.

Things turned sexual when Lee started to strip naked on camera and he persuaded Liong to do the same.

At about noon on the same day, Liong received a message via Facebook chat from Lee which said “I have a surprise for you”.

Unfortunately, the “surprise” was in fact screenshots of a naked Liong from their previous video chat.

Liong said Lee threatened to release the video to his friends and family if he did not pay RM5,000 via Western Union transfer.

“After the picture was sent, he messaged ‘You know what to do’,” said Liong.

To prove his point, Lee even sent screenshots of Facebook profiles of Liong’s friends to show him that he could destroy his life at the click of a button.

Liong stalled his blackmailer by claiming he was broke, before seeking help from MCA Public Services and Complaints Department head Datuk Seri Michael Chong.

Chong said the blackmailer had been constantly pestering Liong about when the money would arrive and messaging as often as every half hour.

He added that a police report had yet to be made and both he and Liong agreed that no money would be paid to the blackmailer.

“I want more people to come forward. You cannot fight alone,” said Chong, who revealed that he already had three other similar cases involving online blackmail this year.

Liong, decked in a baseball cap and sunglasses, was present at a press conference yesterday to highlight his case.

“When you are blinded by emotions, you make mistakes,” said Liong.