Kevin Gao, 23, had befriended all three girls online through Discord and Roblox, CNA reported from the sentencing hearing on June 19. He met two of them in 2020 and stayed in contact with one until 2024, the year he arrived at NTU on an exchange programme.
When she cut off contact that August, Gao repeatedly turned up at her home to confront her over why, and was given a police warning for unlawful stalking.
Angered by the lost friendships, he turned to the dark web, court documents seen by Mothership showed. He paid a hacker known as "Wracker" thousands of dollars in Bitcoin to break into the two girls' Telegram accounts.
He tricked one into clicking a phishing link; the other spotted the attempt and locked him out. After reading the messages in the breached account, Gao had the hacker upload the girls' private chats to a public Telegram channel.
Police searched his home in October 2024 and arrested him the following February. He was released on bail within days.
