According to The Star, Liong had recently befriended a man who introduced himself as a freelance model, a 24-year-old known as John Lee, on Facebook.

They “hit off” instantly and the next day, they were chatting via a video call on Skype.

Halfway through the conversation, Lee started stripping naked on camera and persuaded Liong to do the same, said the report.

Liong followed suit, only to have Lee threaten to release screenshots of Liong being naked, from the previous chat.

The culprit asked Liong to transfer RM5,000 via Western Union, failing which he said he would send the screenshots to Liong’s friends.

To prove his point, Lee sent screenshots of the victim’s friends’ Facebook profiles to Liong, to show that he was not joking.

Liong then sought the help of MCA Public Services and Complaints Department head Michael Chong.

According to Chong, the victim has yet to lodge a police report and said the blackmailer was still harassing the victim.

Chong has handled three similar cases of online blackmail so far this year.

“When you are blinded by emotion, you make mistakes,” Liong told reporters at the press conference yesterday.