51 to be charged with having commercial sex with minor
-
I nicked this one off wiki:
"In addition, many places have a higher age of consent if the older partner is in a position of authority over the young person such as being a teacher, working at her, being her manager, or her parent or stepparent."
I think the higher age for commercial sex is probably a buffer against abuse and sex trafficking cases. Sex workers, teenagers in particular, are vulnerable to those in a position of authority over them. Also, age of consent for non-commercial sex at 16 is fine considering majority of sexual encounters occur between peers so this circumvents the issue of power.
-
Man gets 12 weeks' jail in online vice ring case
SINGAPORE: A fifth man has been sentenced on Friday after pleading guilty to having paid sex with an underage girl in a high-profile online vice ring case.
35-year-old Tan Kok Wee, a former Singapore Armed Forces personnel, was sentenced to 12 weeks' jail for having paid sex with the girl, who was 17 years old at the time.
The court heard that Tan had come across her services online and contacted her pimp Tan Boon Thiew on October 22, 2010. Tan then met the girl at Hotel 81 Bencoolen on October 23, 2010, where he paid her S$500 for sex.
He did not ask to see her identification.
Under Singapore law, it is an offence to have paid sex with a girl below 18 years of age.
Tan is one of 54 men implicated in the online vice ring case. He is a first-time offender and will start serving his sentence on Friday.
The prosecution called for Tan's sentence to be in line with three other men who have already received similar sentences for the same offence, as the facts of the case are similar.
Ex-police officer Tan Wee Kiat, product manager Chiang Meng Chuan, and former executive director of the Singapore Environment Council Howard Shaw, were all sentenced to 12 weeks' jail.
Shaw is out on a S$10,000 bail pending appeal.
The prosecution added that Tan did not have comparable mitigating factors as former principal of Pei Chun Public School Lee Lip Hong, who was jailed nine weeks for a similar offence with the same underage girl.
Lee, who the prosecution said had a strong record of service in education sector, was released from Changi Prison in June after six weeks. The early remission was because of good behaviour.
Earlier on Friday morning, engineer Lee Tian Song, 33, pleaded guilty to paying the same girl S$450 for sex at Hotel 81 Bencoolen in September 2010.
He will be sentenced on October 2.
-CNA/ac -
Another man pleads guilty in online vice ring case
SINGAPORE: One more man has pleaded guilty to having paid sex with an underage girl in a high-profile online vice ring case.
The court heard on Friday that engineer Lee Tian Song, 33, came across the girl's services online and contacted her pimp Tan Boon Thiew.
He then paid her S$450 for sex at Hotel 81 Bencoolen in September 2010. The girl was 17 years old at the time.
The court also heard that Lee had asked the girl her age and she had told him she was 19 years old. He did not ask to see her identification.
Lee will be back in court on October 2 for sentencing.
Under Singapore's law, it is illegal to have paid sex with a girl below 18 years of age.
So far, 54 men have been implicated in the online vice ring case. Four of them have already been sentenced.
Former principal of Pei Chun Public School, Lee Lip Hong, was sentenced to nine weeks' jail for a similar offence with the same underage girl. Lee, 39, was released from Changi Prison in June after serving six weeks' jail. The early remission was because of his good behaviour.
On July 30, former executive director of the Singapore Environment Council, Howard Shaw, was jailed three months for having paid sex with the underage girl. Shaw is now out on a S$10,000 bail pending an appeal.
Production manager Chiang Meng Chuan, 31, was sentenced to 12 weeks' jail on August 13.
Ex-police officer Tan Wee Kiat, 39, was jailed 12 weeks on Monday.
-CNA/ac/al -
All these fellas must have been traced through the computer.
Or maybe the underaged pros asked for their IC and recorded their names and address down. Telling them it is a MOH requirement, just in case. And the highly educated clients believed her.
-
Howard Shaw drops appeal against jail sentence
SINGAPORE: Former executive director of the Singapore Environment Council, Howard Shaw has dropped his appeal against his jail sentence.
The grandson of the Shaw Organisation's founder was sentenced on July 30 this year.
The 41-year-old was given a 12-week jail term for having paid sex with a minor.
He will start his sentence on October 5.
So far, 51 men have been charged with having commercial sex with the underage girl.
Five have been sentenced.
The maximum punishment for the offence is seven years' jail and a fine.
- CNA/fa -
Businessman jailed for paid sex with underage girl
SINGAPORE: A seventh man has been sentenced to jail for having paid sex with an underage girl in the high-profile online vice ring case.
Twenty-eight-year-old businessman Raziuddin Mohamed Naseem received 12 weeks' jail on Monday.
He admitted that he paid S$500 for the sexual services of the girl at Hotel 81 Bencoolen on 18 November 2010.
The court heard that Raziuddin found out about the girl's services online.
He contacted her pimp, Tang Boon Thiew, who made arrangements for him to meet the girl.
Raziuddin did not verify her age when he met her at the hotel.
The girl was 17 years old at the time.
Under Singapore law, it's illegal to have paid sex with a girl under 18 years of age.
So far, 51 men have been implicated in the online vice ring case.
Six others have been sentenced with most receiving jail terms of 12 weeks.
- CNA/ck -
Man jailed 9 weeks for having sex with underage prostitute
SINGAPORE: Wilson Oei, 26, has been sentenced to nine weeks' jail for having sex with an underage prostitute.
He is the eighth man to be convicted in a high profile online vice ring case that has implicated 51 men.
In his mitigation, Oei's lawyer Chen Chee Yen said Oei's age gap with the 17-year-old prostitute was relatively narrow when the offence was committed on 26 September 2010.
Senior District Judge See Kee Oon said a large age disparity could be an aggravating factor, so the age disparity is relevant to the case overall.
But he said the age gap is not so narrow in this case to warrant a discount in sentencing.
The judge said while it was a honest mistake for Oei, he had made no inquiry at all about the girl's age and did not exercise any vigilance.
But he noted that Oei is remorseful about his mistake as shown by his early pleading of guilt.
Oei paid the girl between S$450 and S$500 for sex at Hotel 81 Bencoolen.
- CNA/xq -
this girl worth so much meh? 450 - 500 bucks
-
Originally posted by laurence82:
this girl worth so much meh? 450 - 500 bucks
My guess is that they knew the girl was young, and so they were willing to pay a premium.
Which makes their defence of 'I didn't know she was underaged' all the more shaky.
-
Two jailed for paid sex with underage girl
SINGAPORE: Two more men have been sentenced to jail for having paid sex with an underage girl.
Louis Lee Lip Kian, 33, and Pyi Kyaw Han, 31, each received 12 weeks' jail on Monday, bringing to 10 the total number of people sentenced so far in an online vice ring saga involving 51 men.
In his mitigation plea, Lee's lawyer, Mr Amolat Singh, said Lee was misled by the representations on the website about the girl's age.
He said Lee did not ask about her age as he "honestly and reasonably" thought she was above 18 years old.
The former relationship manager with a bank also thought she had shown an intellectual, mental and physical age well beyond her years.
He was thus "shell-shocked" to discover that she was 17 at the time when he paid her S$500 for sex in a hotel at Bencoolen Street on November 20, 2010.
Pyi's lawyer, Mr James Sebastian, said that while his client had asked about the girl's age, she claimed that she was a final-year student in a tertiary school.
Her physical appearance also supported his impression.
Mr Sebastian said that Pyi had absolutely no intention to break the law and was shocked to learn of his inadvertent breach.
Pyi, who was then a director of a company dealing in security, had felt "cheated" and "victimised" by the representations on the website about her age.
He paid the girl S$650 for sex on December 21, 2010 in a hotel at Bencoolen Street.
In sentencing, Senior District Judge See Kee Oon said deterrence remains the primary consideration.
He noted that both men did not set out knowingly or deliberately to exploit a minor and that they had pleaded guilty at an early stage, expressed remorse and accepted responsibility for their conduct.
- CNA/cc -
Man gets 11 weeks' jail for underage paid sex
SINGAPORE: A navy captain was sentenced to 11 weeks' jail on Monday for having paid sex with an underage prostitute.
Chan Wei Kiat, 27, is the 11th man to be sentenced in the online vice ring saga involving 51 men.
Chan had paid S$500 for sex with the girl, then 17 years old, on 6 November 2010 at a hotel in Lavender Street.
The Republic of Singapore Navy has suspended Chan since investigations started.
In his mitigation plea, Chan's lawyer, Mr Josephus Tan, said that Chan is the eldest of four sons and his family's main breadwinner.
Mr Tan added that since Chan's case came to light, many had come forward with their testimonials attesting to his good, honest and selfless character.
These include his fellow officers and superiors.
The maximum penalty for obtaining sexual services of a person under 18 years of age is imprisonment for seven years and a fine.
- CNA/xq -
Howard Shaw starts 12-week jail term
SINGAPORE: Former executive director of the Singapore Environment Council, Howard Shaw, said he respects what the law has handed down to him, as he started serving his 12-week jail term on Friday.
He made the statement in response to questions from the media when he arrived at the Subordinate Courts at about 11.20am with his wife, Jessie Xue.
Dressed in a white shirt and dark-coloured pants, Shaw told reporters that he was feeling nervous and had not slept very well overnight.
The grandson of the Shaw Organisation's founder was sentenced on July 30 this year for having paid sex with an underage girl.
He was among 51 men implicated in the high-profile online vice ring case involving the girl, who was then 17 years old.
Shaw, 41, had appealed against his sentence but recently withdrew the appeal.
When asked why he withdrew the appeal, Shaw replied: "I respect what the law has handed out to me, and I will serve my time." He added that the decision to withdraw the appeal was entirely his own.
In court, Shaw and Xue sat together quietly in the public gallery of the empty courtroom.
The pair exchanged a hug before officers took Shaw into custody at about 11.30am. His wife handed him a container wrapped in plastic, together with an envelope.
She declined to speak to reporters who approached her.
Eleven men have been sentenced so far in the online vice ring scandal.
The maximum punishment for the offence is seven years' jail and a fine.
- CNA/al -
IT engineer jailed for paid sex with underage girlSINGAPORE - An engineer with an IT company has become the 12th man to be sent to jail for paid sex with an underage girl.Lee Tian Song, 33, was sentenced to 10 weeks' jail today.He paid the girl, who was 17 years old at the time of the offence, S$450 for sex on Sept 26 2010 at a hotel in Bencoolen Street.
Lee, who was represented by Ms Patricia Quah, did not verify her age.
However, both the prosecution and Ms Quah agreed that Lee "did not actively seek out girls under 18 years of age".
During sentencing, District Judge Hamidah Ibrahim also noted that Lee had pleaded guilty at an early stage in August.
The maximum penalty for obtaining the sexual services of a person under 18 years of age is imprisonment of seven years and a fine.
Lee is among 51 men implicated in the high-profile case.-- TODAY -
Two more jailed in online vice ring case
SINGAPORE: Two more men have been jailed for having sex with an underage prostitute.
Lee Vin Sen has been sentenced to ten weeks jail.
The 36-year-old pleaded guilty to paying the girl S$450 for sex at Marina Bay Sands Hotel on 23 September 2010.
He is the 13th man to be sentenced for having paid sex with an underage girl in a high-profile online vice ring case.
District Judge Chay Yuen Fatt called Lee an "accidental client".
Lee's lawyer, Ms Lim Kim Hong, said her client did not "actively go online looking for sexual services," nor was he involved in the booking of the girl and the hotel.
She highlighted that it was Lee's friend instead, who had contacted the girl's pimp and arranged a tryst with her.
Lee came into the picture after his friend lost money at a casino and was unable to pay for the girl's services.
The father-of-two agreed and proceeded to have sex with the girl, who was 17 years old at that time.
Ms Lim added that Lee had acted in a moment of folly and was "very remorseful".
The court also heard that Lee has been "mentally unstable" since he was charged and has been "receiving treatment for the past six months."
Noting that Lee was not actively involved in the booking of the girl, the judge said that Lee's culpability was "a shade lesser."
A second man was also sentenced for a similar offence.
37-year-old businessman Lee Ching Hsuin, was jailed 12 weeks for paying the same girl S$500 for sex at a hotel at Lavender Street on 6 November 2010.
Under Singapore law, it is an offence to have paid sex with a girl below 18 years of age.
- CNA/xq -
1 vice case, so many victims.
-
Accounts executive jailed 11 weeks for having paid sex with underage girl
SINGAPORE: An accounts executive was sentenced to 11 weeks' jail on Tuesday for having paid sex with an underage girl in the high-profile online vice ring case.
Choong Sin Jian, 28, a Singapore Permanent Resident, faced two charges but the prosecution proceeded with one charge, and took the other into consideration.
The court heard that Choong paid $650 on two occasions in January last year, for the sexual services of the girl, who was then 17 years old.
The offences took place at the Strand Hotel in Bencoolen Street.
Choong is one of 51 men brought to court for having paid sex with the girl, who was described as an 18-year-old on a website run by a pimp, Tang Boon Thiew.
Choong had sent a text message to Tang requesting the girl's services.
He is the 15th man implicated in this case to be jailed.
Sentences meted out so far have ranged between nine and 13 weeks.
Choong's lawyer Mr Peter Fernando asked the court for either a fine or a pre-sentence report, as his client was extremely remorseful, and was a first-time offender.
He added that Choong had been deceived into believing the girl was 18 years old, and that his client had already lost his job as a result of his involvement in the case.
Mr Fernando also noted that the girl was only two months shy of her 18th birthday at the time the offences were committed.
But Senior District Judge See Kee Oon said this did not absolve Choong from liability, as he chose not to exercise due diligence.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Ramesh Ethan Ananda earlier told the court that Choong did not ask the girl for her age.
Senior District Judge See then noted that Choong had been the one to initiate the transactions, and had not chosen to plead guilty at an early stage.
Still, he accepted that Choong had not deliberately or actively sought out an underage prostitute, and was unlikely to re-offend.
"General deterrence remains the primary consideration on the facts of this case," he said.
Choong could have been jailed up to seven years and fined.
- CNA/de -
Howard Shaw released from prison
SINGAPORE: Former executive director of the Singapore Environment Council, Howard Shaw, has been released from prison after serving his jail term.
A prison spokesman said Mr Shaw was released on Friday.
The 41-year-old grandson of Shaw Organisation's founder had served eight weeks of his 12-week jail term, which started on October 5, 2012.
A prison inmate in Singapore is granted a one-third remission of his prison sentence, and can be released after serving two-thirds of his sentence if he has not breached prison discipline.
Mr Shaw was sentenced on July 30 this year for having paid sex with an underage girl.
He was the 12th person to be sentenced in the high-profile online vice ring case involving the girl, who was then 17 years old.
He had appealed against his sentence but subsequently withdrew the appeal.
- CNA/fa -
Man gets 11 weeks' jail for sex with underage girl
SINGAPORE: A 37-year-old man was sentenced on Wednesday to 11 weeks' jail for having sex with an underage prostitute.
Tan Wei Siong pleaded guilty to one charge of paying the girl $450 for sex at Hotel 81 Bencoolen on 6 October 2010.
Tan is one of the 51 men charged with having paid sex with the girl in a high-profile online vice ring case. He is the 16th man sentenced in the case.
At the time of the offence, Tan was employed as a management executive with Siglap South Community Centre.
He got to know about the girl through a website advertising escort services of various women. The website was operated by a 38-year-old pimp, Tang Boon Thiew.
The court was told that Tan sent an SMS to Tang on 5 October 2010, enquiring if the girl was available.
When Tang replied "yes", Tan proceeded to book the hotel room. Tang then informed the girl about the hotel room number.
The girl was 17 years old at that time.
The maximum penalty for commercial sex with a person below 18 is seven years' jail and a fine.
- CNA/al -
What happen to sg? Now become sex city ah? MP involves in extramarital affairs, common people go for commercial sex.
Sex and the City
Unfortunately not starring Jessica Parker..... -
Pimp in online vice ring scandal pleads guilty
SINGAPORE: The pimp behind the online vice ring scandal involving an underage girl appeared in court on Thursday.
Tang Boon Thiew, 39, pleaded guilty to 20 charges, including living in part on the earnings of prostitutes, as well as abetting men in obtaining the sexual services of the girl, who was then 17 years old.
He had 82 other charges taken into consideration.
A total of 51 men have been charged for having paid sex with the girl, and 16 of them have been dealt with.
The court heard that Tang ran a social escort agency where some of the women, including the 17-year-old girl, provided sexual services to the clients.
He would take a 50-per cent cut of what the women earned.
According to court documents, Tang secured about 698 bookings for 17 escorts between September 2010 and November 2011. He received over $185,700 in prostitution earnings from them.
The then underage girl worked for Tang between September 2010 and February 2011.
Sometime in September 2010, Tang obtained the girl's mobile phone number from her previous modelling agency and asked if she wanted to "earn good money".
She agreed to take on the job, and on a separate occasion, met him at Hotel 81 in Chinatown, where he booked a room and proceeded to take photographs of her in her lingerie, as well as in the nude.
After he photographed her, he asked her to give him oral sex and then paid her $50.
During that time, Tang secured 82 bookings for the girl, and received about $21,700 from her earnings. She provided sexual services for between $450 and $850 per session.
Tang knew she wasn't 18 but told her not to disclose her real age to her clients.
He also did not come clean to clients who asked about the girl's age.
Tang will be sentenced on January 11.
Shashi Nathan, lawyer of Tang Boon Thiew, said: "Obviously, the whole prosecution, the trial, the sentencing has taken a lot out of him. I think to some extent, he wants to get this over and done with. I think he's willing to face his responsibilities, he wants to serve sentence, so he's hoping to resolve this as soon as possible."
- CNA/ac/de -
Tang Boon Thiew, 39, pleaded guilty to 20 charges, including living in part on the earnings of prostitutes, as well as abetting men in obtaining the sexual services of the girl, who was then 17 years old.
Show the face leh. The men who go and book the whore show the face, the pimp never show the face, can't be lah.
After he photographed her, he asked her to give him oral sex and then paid her $50.
Suck one cock for $50, what the hell. He want to test the cock sucking skills ar?
-
Pimp for underage prostitute gets jail term & fine
SINGAPORE: The pimp of an underage girl at the centre of an online vice ring, Tang Boon Thiew, has been sentenced to four years and 10 months in jail and fined S$90,000.
Tang, 39, appealed against the sentence immediately after he was sentenced on Friday afternoon.
He had pleaded guilty to 20 charges, which included living in part on the earnings of prostitutes and abetting men in obtaining the sexual services of the girl, who was then 17 years old.
Eighty-two other charges were taken into consideration.
Senior District Judge See Kee Oon said Tang had no mitigating factors, other than his plea of guilt. He said Tang had no qualms manipulating and deceiving potential clients and went to great lengths to ensure that the clients of the underage girl won't know what her real age was.
Tang was offered bail but the amount was doubled - from S$80,000 to S$160,000. Channel NewsAsia understands he's able to raise the bail amount.
Tang ran a social escort agency where some of the women, including the 17-year-old girl, provided sexual services to the clients.
He pocketed 50 per cent of their earnings.
Between September 2010 and November 2011, he secured nearly 700 bookings for 17 escorts.
During that period, he earned more than S$185,700 from them.
From the 17-year-old girl alone, Tang received about S$21,700 of her earnings.
He obtained the underage girl's mobile phone number from her previous modelling agency and asked if she wanted to "earn good money".
He reportedly told her not to disclose to clients that she was 17 years old.
The court had also heard that Tang moved from being the Southeast Asia head of the marketing team in Internet giant Yahoo! to becoming an online pimp.
His clients included the 51 men who were charged with paying the underage girl for sex.
Sixteen of them have been dealt with, including former Pei Chun Public School principal Lee Lip Hong and green activist Howard Shaw.
- CNA/ck -
Huat Arh!
-
The court had also heard that Tang moved from being the Southeast Asia head of the marketing team in Internet giant Yahoo! to becoming an online pimp.
Ehhh, Yahoo! taught him well?
-
Father of 3 jailed for sex with underage girl
SINGAPORE: A man nabbed in a high-profile online vice ring crackdown last year has been sentenced to eight weeks' jail.
Kenny Sim Choon Wee, 39, admitted to having paid sex with a 17-year-old teenager in October 2010 at Hotel 81 in Bencoolen Street.
He was one of 50 men implicated in the online vice ring case.
In his mitigation, his lawyer said the girl, who cannot be named, had deceived the men.
Mr Anand Nalachandran pointed out that Sim was genuinely mistaken and did not seek the services of an underage prostitute.
He added that Sim, who has three children, suffered from cerebral palsy and now has limb spasticity.
Mr Anand urged the court to give a substantial fine instead of a jail term.
But the prosecution argued that the onus was on Sim to verify the age of the girl and that he failed to do so.
It added that the law expected Sim to have exercised due diligence, but he allowed himself to be misled by the representation of the minor on the website.
It asked for a jail term of at least 12 weeks.
But the judge took into account Sim's medical condition and sentenced him to eight weeks' jail instead.
It's understood that Sim is appealing against the sentence.
- CNA/ck