Three men were each jailed for 11 weeks on Wednesday for engaging in commercial sex with a 17-year-old girl from China. A fourth man, cleaner Koh Sui Kim, 65, also pleaded guilty to a similar charge but his sentencing was postponed to Oct 2, pending a medical report.
The four were among 19 men charged last week. So far, three men from China and a Malaysian have since been dealt with for having paid sex with the same girl.
The trio who were jailed on Wednesday were: logistics supervisor Yeo Choon Seng, 41, social worker Ng Chak Song, 57, and cleaner Low Kia How, 50. Except for Ng who paid the girl $40, the other three each paid $60 to the girl at various hotels in Geylang between May 18 and 27.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Stella Tan Wei Ling said before the minor's father death from cancer in China in October 2011, he had borrowed RMB100,000 (about S$20,000) from relatives and loansharks for his medical treatment. The minor and her mother had to work to repay the debts.
The minor's employer, a hair salon owner, suggested that she work in a casino in Macau to earn more money. The minor agreed and travelled to Macau with her employer. But it turned out that she was below 18 and could not work in the casino.
The minor was tricked into meeting one Tang Huisheng, in Zhuhai. He drugged her with Ice and had sex with her, and would beat her up if she refused his demands.
When the minor was told that she would be taken to Singapore to work as a prostitute, she refused and begged to return home. But he locked her up in the room for more than a week. When she tried to escape by jumping from the fifth floor, she hurt her back and legs and was caught by Tang who beat her up and took away all her belongings.
Both flew to Singapore on May 16. Two days later the minor began work as a prostitute until her arrest on June 1.
District Judge Low Wee Ping said this was a case of international trafficking of a minor for prostitution. He described the teen's story as heartbreaking, and the facts, horrendous and horrific.He told the four that was why the legal system took a serious view of these cases, reiterating that they were not private acts as many Singaporeans think.
Tang is expected to go on trial soon.
