In a shocking case that has happened in Singapore, a 17-year-old boy has pleaded guilty to multiple charges involving the recruitment of two underage girls for sex work.
The teenager, whose identity cannot be revealed due to legal restrictions, admitted to six charges, including recruiting a child for sexual exploitation, receiving money for facilitating sexual services, advertising sexual services on Telegram, and obstructing justice.
An additional seven charges will be taken into consideration during sentencing.
FIRST TEEN
According to report, the teenager, an Indian national and Singapore permanent resident, was still a student at the time of the offenses. He first came into contact with the first victim, a 16-year-old hawker assistant known as V1 in court documents, through the father of her child, who was a friend of his.
In June 2022, V1, in need of money to support her baby, met with the offender, requesting job opportunities that provided fast cash.
A month later, the offender joined a Telegram chat group where sexual services were offered and gained permission to post advertisements in the group.
The teenager then informed V1 about a “high paying” job but mentioned that she would need to provide “full services,” referring to intercourse. He promised her up to S$500 (US$375) per booking, with a S$100 commission to be paid to him each time, the report added.
Under their arrangement, the teenager would find clients for V1 and advertise her services.
Between July 2022 and April 2023, he advertised V1’s services in the chat group as a 17-year-old “xmm” social escort, which he believed meant a “cute young girl.” He successfully secured at least five customers for V1, earning a total commission of S$600.
SECOND TEEN
In January 2023, V1 introduced the offender to a second victim, V2, a 17-year-old school dropout.
The teenager became an administrator of the chat group at the same time and also advertised V2’s services, marketing her as a 17-year-old “xmm” social escort. He procured multiple customers for V2, one of whom engaged in sexual activities with her and paid S$600.
One of the clients, a 34-year-old Singaporean man named Muhamad Reduan Kamsari, engaged in sexual services with V2 through the chat group. The offender arranged the meeting and received an additional S$200 in commission.
However, on April 3, Reduan reported the incident to the police, claiming he had been scammed.
When officers arrived, they found Reduan with both V1 and V2.
Reduan confessed to engaging V2’s services through an agent from the Telegram chat group but said he believed the legal age requirement for paid sexual services was 16.
Realizing the police had been alerted, the teenager changed the title of his chat group, logged out of the account, and deleted chat logs with customers to evade detection.
Despite his efforts, he was later identified and arrested by investigators from the Specialised Crime Branch.
During the investigation, it was revealed that the victims had delayed paying commissions to the teenager, who then offered to waive their owed fees if they engaged in sexual activities with him. However, they rejected his proposition and eventually paid him the money owed.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Tay Jia En has requested a report to assess whether the offender is suitable for reformative training. The offender, despite being young, has been involved in very serious offenses that typically carry lengthy imprisonment terms. Within a span of over a year, the offender faced 13 charges and reoffended while released on station bail.
Furthermore, the offender utilized social media to promote illegal activities, impeding law enforcement by deleting vital evidence. Mr. Tay stated that the offender displayed no hesitation in recruiting victims into the corrupt world of vice. Financial gain was the primary motivator, with the offender earning at least S$1,100.
Defense lawyer Samuel Chong acknowledged his client’s youthfulness and did not object to the prosecution’s request for a reformative training report. However, he also requested a probation assessment report to evaluate his client’s suitability for probation.
Taking into account the offender’s young age and lack of prior convictions, the judge believed that probation could not be entirely disregarded. He stated that he would request both reports before deciding on the appropriate sentence.
The offender will return to court for sentencing in December. The cases involving Reduan and other customers will be handled separately, the report added.
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