A man who was convicted of 10 counts of sexual offences against minors was jailed for 61/2 years and six strokes of the cane on Thursday.

Simon Wong Choy Chuan, 25, had admitted to sexually abusing five girls aged 12 to 15 from July 2011 to May last year,

The court heard that Wong used a false identity on the Internet and caused psychological harm to his victims.

In some instances, he pretended to be possessed or assumed the persona of his "twin'' to coerce some of his victims into having sex and performing obscene acts on him.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Elizabeth Chua had urged the court to impose a stiff sentence, citing a number of aggravating factors.

She said his offences were pre-meditated involving deception. He had exploited young and vulnerable victims, who gave in to his sexual requests for fear of possible reprisal.

District Judge Siva Shanmugam agreed with the prosecution that Wong posed a real danger to society at large, and a deterrent sentence was called for.

He noted that he had been convicted of having sex with an underaged girl before.

"Sexual predators of children and would-be offenders must be made to realise that society does not condone such conduct, and that their actions would be met with severe penalties,'' he said.