'One-armed runner' Adam Kamis jailed 38 months for vice offences

Adam Kamis (left) arriving at the State Courts. Photograph on the right shows Kamis during his preparation for the Men's Health Urbanathlon in 2012. ST PHOTO: WONG KWAI CHOW, ONG WEE JIN

SINGAPORE - National para-athlete Adam Kamis was on Monday (June 27) sentenced to 38 months' jail for vice-related offences and recruiting a 16-year-old for sexual exploitation.

Better known as the "one-armed runner", he had gotten several women who had expressed an interest in working as social escorts for an agency he set up to perform sexual acts and have sex with him in his Yishun flat.

The 37-year-old would conduct "verification" sessions, where he asked them to strip so he could inspect their bodies. He then "tested" the women, asking them to provide him with sexual services that they would provide to clients.

The motivational speaker was earlier convicted on 12 charges - two counts of procuring a woman for prostitution, nine of trying to procure a woman for prostitution, and one of recruiting a child for sexual exploitation.

Adam, who lost his right arm and had his left arm paralysed in a motorcycle accident in 2003, represented Singapore in track and field at the Commonwealth Games and Asean Para Games. He clinched a gold in the men's 1,500m event at the 2009 Asean Para Games.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Sharmila Sripathy-Shanaz earlier told the court that Adam was in debt when he set up a social escort agency, SG Freelancers, in early 2013.

To recruit women to work for his one-man enterprise, he passed himself off as a social escort working for the agency.

In his template message to random women on Facebook, he offered applicants a chance to earn up to $1,000 per assignment.

If the women expressed continued interest in the job, he would ask them to complete a questionnaire and send photographs to his e-mail account.

They would then go to his Yishun flat for a "verification" session. Some who did not perform satisfactorily - such as being "too slow'' or "too stiff'' - were told to return for further "verification".

If the women were still keen on working for the agency after completing the various steps, he would then create an online profile for them on Craigslist and Locanto to advertise their services.

In the course of investigation, evidence was obtained from 34 women who had responded to his advertisements.

Although he recruited 15 women during his 2½-year operation, he managed to secure only five clients as the women declined assignments for various reasons. He has not received any commission to date, said the DPP.

In the sexual exploitation charge, the court heard that a 16-year-old student went to Adam's flat for an interview on April 21 last year.

Adam, who introduced himself as Bob, told her to charge her customers $500 an hour. Of this, a 50 per cent commission would be paid to the agency.

After inspecting her body, he said he needed to test her sexual skills. She was reluctant and told him she had a boyfriend, but Adam said no one would find out.

When she asked if the job was a "prostitute job'', he said it was "more high class'' than that. He assured her that the job was legal as his company had a licence.

Before she left, he had unprotected sex with her.

He subsequently sent her multiple messages asking her to submit her photos, but she did not do so.

DPP Sharmila had sought a total sentence of 38 months, while Adam's lawyer Ravinderpal Singh asked for a shorter jail term on account of the hardship that his client will suffer in prison.

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