A 29-year-old former reporter with The Straits Times was charged in court on Monday with three counts of having consensual sex with a minor.

The Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) local scholarship holder is accused of having oral sex with the 15-year-old girl at a house off Upper Paya Lebar Road between November and December 2011, and at a male public toilet cubicle at Fort Canning Park in the early months of 2012. The third charge alleges that he had sex with the minor at a flat in Serangoon Avenue 1 on June 23 last year.

The case against him will be mentioned on Nov 18 after his lawyer Mathew Kurian sought a four-week adjournment to make representations. Mr Kurian also requested that his client's name be kept out of the media as it could lead to the disclosure of the victim. This, after the court granted a gag order on the victim. The prosecution had no objections.

The accused's employment has been terminated. If convicted, he faces a jail term of up to 10 years and/or fined on each charge.