Victim-Offender overlap is a well-established correlation in the victimology and criminology literature. Those who have the power can dodge the justice system.
Saad-Ur-Rehman, also known as Ducky, is the most successful YouTuber in Pakistan. At the time of writing this article, Ducky has 9.82 million subscribers from 844 videos. He has mainly created family vlogs, which is the most controversial content category among YouTubers, but he is still managing to earn a fortune. Who knows that this fortune lasts only a few years and turns into a nightmare? Ducky started his career as a roaster. He roasted TikTokers, and YouTubers, among chief of them is Sham Idress. Ducky criticized Sham Idress for family vlogging, which created a cold war and then turned into a social media war. In every war there is a beneficiary, so in this fight, Ducky was the recipient as he earned many subscribers and halt Sham’s growth. However, he criticized family vlogging in his struggling days, which eventually became his key content.
Explaining Ducky’s Crime through Victim-Offender Overlap :
Research has demonstrated a pronounced and positive link between participation in criminal behavior and the experience of victimization, also known as the overlap between victims and offenders. The Victim-Offender overlap examines the intricate connection between individuals who experience victimization and those who engage in criminal behavior. It challenges the conventional notion of victims and offenders as separate entities by exploring the potential overlap or relationship between them (Daigle, 2020). This approach reveals instances where victims may later become offenders due to factors like trauma or personal circumstances. Equally, offenders can also become victims, creating a victim-to-offender relationship.
Early research by Wolfgang documented the victim-offender overlap, in which 64% of homicide offenders and 47% of homicide victims previously had criminal records. In 2006, Broidy and Colleagues found that 57% of homicide offenders and 50% of homicide victims had criminal charges. Jennings and Colleagues reviewed 37 studies in which 31 reported Victim-Offender overlap. These studies showed Victim-Offender overlap and that many murdered victims had criminal records, and many of them precipitated homicides.
What is the offence of Ducky?
Ducky has promoted illegal online gambling and betting apps, like 1xBet, Binomo, Bet365, and B9 Game, through his YouTube channel. While the FIR included 27 videos in which he promoted gambling apps, many of these videos are now deleted from his channel.
Gambling and betting apps pay users based on their outcomes. If one person wins, the other will definitely incur a loss. Payment issues prevail among these apps due to the illegal status of gambling and betting in Pakistan. Promoters like Ducky Bhai reportedly earned affiliate commissions, such as up to 80% of users incurring losses.
B9 is the only app in Ducky’s portfolio that is a clone of BC Game Casino. Complaints surfaced that B9 blocked withdrawals, offer no support, and even no payouts after deposits. Influencers promote this app, but it is a fraudulent or scamming app with no proof of user rewards.
Ducky’s argument is that many of these apps are also promoted on the Pakistan Super League. As gambling is illegal in Pakistan under the Prevention of Gambling Act 1977 and Section 37 of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act 2016, betting companies used a workaround called “surrogate advertising.” Betting platforms would create similar named “news” or “sports” website/apps. For example, Melbet turned to Melbat, Dafabet turned to DafaNews, and Wolf777 turned into Wolf777News, acting as official sponsors. Besides engaging in illegal promotion, Ducky is also accused of harassing his video editors. Claims surfaced on YouTube by the former editors that he underpaid them and never acknowledged their contributions.
How Ducky become victim?
When Ducky was on remand, some journalists reported on his extensive torture and abuse when he was just detained. After his release, Ducky published a video on his YouTube channel in which he described extensive abuse and trauma, which negatively affected his ability to talk. Ducky represented his arrest as oppressive. This makes him a victim, which fits well under the victim offender overlap. However, this was not the first time when Ducky becomes a victim. In April 2024, deepfake explicit videos of Ducky’s wife, Aroob Jatoi, were released online. While it is still unknown whether this was done for doxxing, revenge porn, extortion, or to earn viewership, it highlights that Ducky tried to cash in and did a failed attempt to become a victim of this incident by making a video that did not cause much impact.
Backlash from Social Media Followers :
Ducky faced extensive backlash on his wife’s deepfake video and even after sharing traumatic experience of his remand. Many people claimed that Ducky incurred the crypto loss and his wife’s deepkfake video is a part of his strategy to recover the loss. People also didn’t know about such video but when Ducky made a video he is actually giving a shout out.
The response from the public most of the times include abusive language and foul comments. This is one of the consequences of influencer marketing because social media lacks protective measures that exist in the traditional workplace related to harassment or bullying.
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Power Imbalance :
In prospect, Ducky’s abuse during custody should not conceal the fact that he promoted illegal gambling and betting apps. He should be penalized for his crimes. Everyone faces punishment when they break rules or laws, so Ducky’s abuse during custody does not make him above the law.
Ducky’s case also represent power imbalance in the justice system of Pakistan. Ducky has a stable financial position, but this does not give him an edge because he lacks the elite networks and influence that most high-profile people have in the country. I will not quote high-profile examples that you will find elsewhere. Readers remember Shahrukh Jatoi, who murdered Shahzeb over a minor dispute. He received a death sentence in 2013, which was converted to life imprisonment in 2017, and his punishment was abolished in 2022 along with his companions. Another offender Rao Anwar, an influential police officer who murdered Naqeebullah Mehsud in a staged encounter. In 2023, Rao was freed along with his 17 subordinates. That means financial status is insufficient to dodge any crime in Pakistan; feudal or establishment influence provides higher insurance against crime. And we know that it is the best insurance anyone has in Pakistan.
