A court has handed down a collective sentence of four years and three months in prison to a man for sharing objectionable photos and videos of a woman on WhatsApp and Facebook.
Judicial Magistrate (East) Gulraiz Memon awarded accused Muhammad Sohail one-year imprisonment each under Sections 16 (unauthorized use of identity information), 20 (offences against dignity of a natural person), and 24 (cyberstalking) of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act, 2016.
The convict was awarded another 15 month-imprisonment under Section 21 (offences against modesty of a natural person and minor) of the Act. He was ordered to pay a collective fine of Rs180,000 or undergo additional imprisonment on default.
According to the prosecution, the accused recorded objectionable videos and photos of the woman while they were allegedly in a relationship and later started blackmailing and harassing her to extort money.
The accused intentionally transmitted sexually explicit images and videos through social media platforms, including WhatsApp and Facebook, it said, adding that this material was sent directly to the victim on her WhatsApp and her family members and others.
The prosecution contended that the accused acted with the malicious intent to intimidate, coerce, blackmail, and harass the complainant, severely compromising her privacy and dignity while purposefully harming her reputation.
The accused filed an application, voluntarily admitting his guilt and prayed for mercy. In his statement under Section 342 of the Criminal Procedure Code, the accused asked for mercy and lesser punishment and promised that he will never commit such mistake in future.
In his written order, the magistrate observed that the court before relying on the plea of guilt for the purpose of basing conviction on the same should be satisfied by putting question to the accused if he was aware of the charges framed against him and that he admitted his guilt voluntarily without any pressure.
“Hence the questions have been asked, from the accused and from his answers it transpired that accused is going to plead his guilt voluntarily and that too without any pressure and that he paid remorse in the Court for commission of alleged offence and that the accused has further admitted that he has not been convicted in any other case and asked for mercy,” he said.
