SINGAPORE - A male polytechnic student allegedly pretended to be a female sex worker online and duped 16 men who were seeking sexual services into transferring a total of $3,200 into his bank account.

Lee Chao Hunt, 19, was charged in court on Friday (Sept 7) with 17 counts of cheating. One victim fell for the ruse twice, court documents showed.

Lee is accused of cheating each victim of between $150 and $350.

The Singaporean is said to have committed the offences between June and November last year. In a statement, police said they received a report from one of the alleged victims on Nov 24 that year.

"The suspect had asked him (the victim) to make an advance payment into a bank account in exchange for sexual services thereafter.

"After the payment was made, the suspect became uncontactable," said the police.

But officers from Tanglin Police Division managed to establish the suspect's identity and Lee was arrested in Kampong Java Road, near Newton Road, on Jan 26 this year.

On Friday, the student was offered bail of $15,000. He will be back in court on Oct 5.

For each count of cheating, offenders can be jailed for up to 10 years and fined.