SINGAPORE: A 22-year-old American exchange student named Kevin Gao stalked and harassed three SG teens, aged 17, whom he had met online. He’s been slapped with four charges under the Computer Misuse Act and Protection from Harassment Act.
The names of the teens have not been released, as their identities have been protected, given their ages.
Gao called one of the teens, referred to as “C,” over 1,000 times in just over two weeks while he was in Singapore last year, according to a report in Shin Min Daily News.
The harassment affected the teen so badly that she could no longer go to school and moved residences, along with changing her phone number and email address.
The verdict on Gao’s case will be read on March 4.
Stalking and harassment
Gao met C as far back as March 2021, when they met through an online gaming platform. He came to Singapore as an exchange student last year and reconnected with her.
In the course of the conversations they had, he found out her address and the polytechnic she was attending.
The report in Shin Min Daily News says that from April to September of last year, Gao stalked and harassed C, and, as she emerged from the MRT station, followed her into her school. He would also follow her after class back to the station.
He also bombarded her with messages on Telegram and WhatsApp, as well as calls to her phone.
Gao’s harassment went to the extent of buying 14 international phone lines in his efforts to talk to her, as well as creating 11 separate Telegram accounts in the hopes of getting her to communicate with him.
From July 14 to 29, 2025, he called her number 1,074 times.
When C realised Gao was stalking her, she sent him a text message to confront him about it. Instead of backing down, he transferred the amount of S$100 to her by way of an apology, which C promptly returned.
He kept on following her, however, with Gao asking if they could be friends.
Incredibly, Gao also tried to steal C’s phone at one point.
The repeated unwanted attention Gao paid C caused her much mental and emotional anguish, with the report adding that she lived in constant fear. It also affected her schooling, as she could not concentrate in class, which naturally had a negative effect on her grades. Because C felt unsafe, she reached a point of no longer attending classes.
Gao had previously made the acquaintance of two other teen girls, only referred to as “A” and “B.” Both girls, however, stopped communicating with him prior to his arrival in Singapore.
He tried visiting A’s home multiple times and received a stern warning from the Police when he did so.
Unhappy that the teens had cut them off, Gao asked a Russian hacker to break into their accounts on Telegram. The hacker was only able to do this with B’s account.
He faces a maximum fine of S$5000, jail time of as long as six months, or both, under the Protection from Harassment Act. /TISG
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