THE pictures were personal and revealing.

When Michelle Quek, 18, put them up on her blog last year along with some comments about herself, she did not expect a fiery reaction.

But that was exactly what she got.


It became so bad she filed a police report. When she posted a copy on her blog, it sparked off another wave of 'flamings' against her for 'over-reacting.'

Which raises the question: How far should one go to defend oneself as the Internet becomes more and more like the Wild Wild Web?

Michelle's problems started when an Internet user named Chao_turtle came across her blog and started a thread on a popular Internet forum last October.

Literally translated, 'Chao turtle' means smelly turtle.

In response to the post, other users started subsequent threads about Michelle in the following months.

Michelle, a student, said there were four threads, each with hundreds of postings, and there have been about 2,000 postings.

She was upset when many forum members commented on her pictures, and they took postings from her personal blog and put them on theforum.

Some comments were polite, but many others were nasty and insulting.

Soon, the flamers even moved the forums to her blog. The flaming went on for almost a week.

That was when she threatened to make a police report. The forum users taunted her - and she went ahead..

On 28 Mar, Michelle filed the report at the Serangoon Neighbourhood Police Post against one Chao_turtle.

Michelle said she uploaded her personal photos on her blog knowing that it would be open to the public.

'I'm fine with people viewing and keeping my photos, but not putting them all over a forum and insulting me over it,' she said.

That night after going to the police post, she uploaded a digital copy of the report on the blog for all to see.

The next morning, someone posted the picture of the report on the forum.

The thread received a staggering 1,400 posts and 27,000 views in one day before it was closed by the forum administrators.

Michelle said: 'These people have gone too far with their abuse of my photos and defacing of my blog.'

She claimed they 'defaced' her blog by posting nasty comments on her tagboard, which is an electronic message board designed by her.

In defending herself in the forum over these photos, Michelle said they should not be criticising her because there was nothing wrong with what she did. She was free to post her pictures, she had a family lawyer who would help her and her father supported what she was doing.

Some forum members found her tone condescending. Others did not like the way she flaunted her lifestyle on her blog, about how her brother drove a Honda Integra Type R, a sportscar, and how she couldn't wait to get her licence so she could drive one.

She also wrote about how her mother bought her a Louis Vuitton bag, from the Damier Azur Speedy collection.

Other more daring users went on to flame her on her blog's tagboard.

One anonymous post on her blog read: 'You are an open target... but you don't know who am I... hahaha... scared right...'

With the overwhelming attention that she was receiving, Michelle started feeling paranoid.

'Will I get into trouble outside because lots of people now know how I look?' she asked The New Paper when we spoke to her last week.

'I'm from a middle-income family. I never said that I was rich,' she added.

For Michelle, all she wants now is to be out of the spotlight. She feels more at ease after making the police report.

After the report was posted on the forum, the flaming died down for a while.

'I'm a bit relieved now. I don't have to worry... If the flaming stops, I won't pursue this case,' she said.

Is she over-reacting? Some netizens think so.

Ms Helen Leong, 28, a regular forum user who read the posts, said: 'If she can't take the flamings on the forum, then why did she post her pictures online?

'It's common sense: if you post anything online, you have to be prepared for flamings.

'The correct thing to do if your pictures are leeched and posted on other forums is to inform the forum administrators to remove the pictures.'

Some others acknowledged that users like Chao_turtle may have overstepped the line by using words like 'slut'.

A 24-year-old engineering undergraduate who took part in the forum wrote: 'Chao_turtle is entitled to his opinion, although I do not agree with the way he started the issue.'

Forum user Han Ming Guang, 22, an undergraduate from the National University of Singapore, said that making a police report was 'ludicrous'.

'Flaming happens everywhere,' he said. 'If she can't handle it, ignore it. If she can't ignore it, then she should just make her blog private.'

Michelle has now locked her blog pictures with a password to restrict access.

When contacted, a police spokesman said: 'We found no criminal elements disclosed and have advised Michelle to liaise with the service providers to remove the objectionable content.'