'There are some really sick people out there'

Mother whose young daughter's pictures get posted on lewd website says photos were taken without permission

SHE hit the roof when she saw her young daughter's pictures on the SG Sexy Preteens website, accompanied by sexually-suggestive captions written by the man who had set it up.

The pictures, she said, had been taken without permission from her daughter's website.

The pictures, which were taken several years ago, showed her daughter playing outdoors, and performing a gymnastics routine.

The girl is now 15.

The New Paper on Sunday had alerted the woman to the site.

But we are not naming her to protect her daughter's identity.

Said the woman: 'The pictures were on an inappropriate website, and were taken without our authorisation.

'There were also pictures of other children - it tells you that there are some really sick people out there.'

When she realised her daughter's pictures were on the man's website, the woman made a police report.

She added that she has not told her daughter that her pictures had been reproduced on the lewd website.

'My husband and I haven't decided if we are going to tell her yet,' she said.

She told The New Paper on Sunday that she had heard of online predators who preyed on young children, but never expected one to hit so close to home.

She said: 'We are usually very careful about what we put on the Internet, and we monitor our children's online activities closely.'

She added that when her daughter's website was set up, the family was careful to pick pictures that were 'safe' to post online.

'Our children access the Internet regularly, but they don't have Facebook accounts,' she said.

Need for vigilance

This incident, she said, has made her see the need to be more vigilant about monitoring her children's online activities.

She said: 'My daughter's school reacted really well - they have told their students to be more discerning about the kind of pictures they post online, and who they invite into their Facebook accounts.'

And she hopes the owner of the lewd website will be brought to justice.

She said: 'The website looked like it took a considerable amount of effort to start up, and there's obviously a community of people who are into this sort of thing.

'I hope that not only the site owner is caught, but also those who regularly access the site.'

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You can't police Internet, so self-regulation a must

YOUNG netizens and their parents listen up: Online predators are around and will always be.

So netizens, beware.

Mr Aloysius Cheang, president of SIG2, the leading local IT security professionals body here, stressed the importance of public education for parents to stay up-to-date on new methods of online interaction.

'The main channel (for such interaction) used to be Internet Relay Chat (IRC), and even telephone chatlines, but now there are sites like Facebook,' he said.

To Mr Cheang, the idea of forming a body dedicated to policing the Internet is impractical.

'There are just too many of such questionable people around. It is impossible to monitor all of them,' he explained.

As such, he thinks that there really isn't much that can be done, except for netizens to be self-policing.

He said: 'The Internet is more about self-regulation - we have to rely on individuals who have a sense of righteousness, who are willing to report questionable websites to the authorities.'

Ms Cassandra Tay, director of Communications, Community and International Relations of the Media Development Authority (MDA), said the authorities focus on public education on safe Internet use, rather than on policing online activities.

She said MDA has been working with the Internet and Media Advisory Committee (INMAC), a council which examines issues related to media literacy and online safety, to help Singaporeans surf the Internet safely.

She added that MDA has various projects which aim to promote cyber-wellness - or online safety - among netizens.

Some of MDA's public education efforts include projects such as TV programmes and events on online safety.

Also in the pipeline is a cyber gaming festival later this year.