Role reversal: Now woman circulates man's nude pictures

Kuala Lumpur: A Malaysian man is appealing to his former girlfriend to stop circulating his nude pictures and to destroy them.

Ng Lum Heng, 44, has sought the help of the Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA) Public Services and Complaints Department after the woman e-mailed his nude pictures to his wife, friends and colleagues.

This may be a reversal of roles the world over, particularly in Malaysia where women politicians, TV celebrities and commoners alike are victims of the wrath of their jilted male lovers who resort to circulating nude pictures of their former partners.

Ng claimed he had been living with the 42-year-old woman for three years. In April, he decided to take up a job in Qatar because he was facing financial problems.

However, the woman thought it was an excuse to leave her and they had an argument, The Star newspaper said on Saturday.

While in Qatar, both communicated through the Internet and used a webcam. Ng claimed the woman had saved images of him in the nude.

On returning from Qatar, he discovered the woman had emptied out the house where they were staying.

He did not suspect anything amiss. They even went on a holiday together but Ng did not see the woman after that.

They still kept in touch through the phone, with the woman always urging him to divorce his wife. He had left his wife of nine years and two young sons due to marital problems.

On June 20, his wife, friends and colleagues received e-mails containing his nude pictures. And Ng lost his job in Qatar as a result.

He does not plan to lodge a police report but will do so if the woman does not stop circulating the pictures, the newspaper said.

MCA Department chief Michael Chong said he had received 22 similar cases since 2006, four of them involving male victims.

In more than half of the cases, the victims were unaware they were being filmed, Chong said.

Another recent controversy involves state level minister Elizabeth Wong, who took a two-month holiday to escape the public debate.

Her nude pictures have kept appearing even after she resumed work. She says she must learn to live with it.

Media debate on the deliberate misuse of the Internet to settle personal scores in which women are victims has raised a question: why do women allow themselves to be pictured or filmed in the nude or in intimate situations?

The response to this is that they are either cheated or coaxed into being filmed. In many cases, they get persuaded to keep up the relationship, only to regret when it goes sour.