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Singapore Man Faces AI-Generated Deepfake Stalking, Seeks Protection Under POHA
A Singapore administrative assistant has turned to the courts after a stranger fabricated a romantic life for him using AI. Luke, who is single and has no children, discovered a series of photos in December 2025 that portrayed him with a woman claiming to be his fiancée and a child they supposedly shared. The images were later identified as AI‑generated deepfakes. He reported the incident to police and is now pursuing a protection order under Singapore’s Protection from Harassment Act (POHA).
Luke’s sister first alerted him when a friend of hers spotted the photos on the woman’s Instagram account. The friend, who also knew Luke, informed the sister that the woman was a former schoolmate Luke had seen only once fifteen years earlier. The sister, who wishes to remain anonymous, said she had tried to contact the woman and asked her to remove the images, especially those that featured her 6‑month‑old son, but received no response.
The deepfakes included photos of Luke’s nephew and niece, a child the woman claimed she was pregnant with, and staged moments from their school days. In one edited image, Luke is shown in a blue long‑sleeved shirt holding a child, while the original photo shows him in a black shirt posing with a cake. The manipulation was detectable by the distortion of a chair’s pattern, a common tell‑tale of AI editing.
On June 7, the sister posted a detailed account of the incident on the social‑media platform Threads. The post garnered more than 12,000 likes and prompted several people to comment that the woman had also posed as Luke on other online platforms. According to the sister, the woman had used Luke’s photos to befriend others since 2017, but the interactions remained confined to the digital realm.
The woman’s Instagram account, which had previously posted the fake photos, was deactivated on June 15. Attempts by The Straits Times to contact her on June 16 were unsuccessful.
Clinical psychologist Carol Balhetchet, who was consulted by the family, said the woman shows signs of delusional thinking and a strong desire to gain control over Luke. She advised that the woman should seek psychological help.
Luke has filed a police report and is considering a POHA application. Lawyer Kevin Liew, head of the crime practice at Gloria James‑Civetta and Co, explained that the Act covers “posting AI‑generated photos, impersonation, and false online posts.” He added that it is not necessary to prove intent; it is sufficient to demonstrate that the conduct is likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress. The alleged fabricated relationship, the fake pregnancy, and the use of family pictures would satisfy this threshold.
If a POHA application is served, the parties would attend court, where mediation may be offered. If mediation fails, the case would proceed to trial, and the court would decide whether a protection order should be granted.
Since the incident, both Luke and his sister have set their social‑media accounts to private, limiting visibility to approved contacts. They remain concerned about the potential for further misuse of their personal images.
The case highlights the growing legal challenges posed by deepfakes in Singapore. While the POHA was enacted to address harassment and stalking, it now also covers the new threat of AI‑generated content that can create false narratives and cause psychological harm.
As of now, the woman’s identity and current whereabouts remain unknown, and no court action has yet been taken. The family is awaiting the outcome of the POHA application and any subsequent legal proceedings.
Luke’s sister first alerted him when a friend of hers spotted the photos on the woman’s Instagram account. The friend, who also knew Luke, informed the sister that the woman was a former schoolmate Luke had seen only once fifteen years earlier. The sister, who wishes to remain anonymous, said she had tried to contact the woman and asked her to remove the images, especially those that featured her 6‑month‑old son, but received no response.
The deepfakes included photos of Luke’s nephew and niece, a child the woman claimed she was pregnant with, and staged moments from their school days. In one edited image, Luke is shown in a blue long‑sleeved shirt holding a child, while the original photo shows him in a black shirt posing with a cake. The manipulation was detectable by the distortion of a chair’s pattern, a common tell‑tale of AI editing.
On June 7, the sister posted a detailed account of the incident on the social‑media platform Threads. The post garnered more than 12,000 likes and prompted several people to comment that the woman had also posed as Luke on other online platforms. According to the sister, the woman had used Luke’s photos to befriend others since 2017, but the interactions remained confined to the digital realm.
The woman’s Instagram account, which had previously posted the fake photos, was deactivated on June 15. Attempts by The Straits Times to contact her on June 16 were unsuccessful.
Clinical psychologist Carol Balhetchet, who was consulted by the family, said the woman shows signs of delusional thinking and a strong desire to gain control over Luke. She advised that the woman should seek psychological help.
Luke has filed a police report and is considering a POHA application. Lawyer Kevin Liew, head of the crime practice at Gloria James‑Civetta and Co, explained that the Act covers “posting AI‑generated photos, impersonation, and false online posts.” He added that it is not necessary to prove intent; it is sufficient to demonstrate that the conduct is likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress. The alleged fabricated relationship, the fake pregnancy, and the use of family pictures would satisfy this threshold.
If a POHA application is served, the parties would attend court, where mediation may be offered. If mediation fails, the case would proceed to trial, and the court would decide whether a protection order should be granted.
Since the incident, both Luke and his sister have set their social‑media accounts to private, limiting visibility to approved contacts. They remain concerned about the potential for further misuse of their personal images.
The case highlights the growing legal challenges posed by deepfakes in Singapore. While the POHA was enacted to address harassment and stalking, it now also covers the new threat of AI‑generated content that can create false narratives and cause psychological harm.
As of now, the woman’s identity and current whereabouts remain unknown, and no court action has yet been taken. The family is awaiting the outcome of the POHA application and any subsequent legal proceedings.
