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33-year-old Darryl Ian Koshy, better known as Dee Kosh, was sentenced to 32 weeks' jail for sexual offences involving teenage boys.
The former radio DJ and YouTuber appeared in court on Friday (Aug. 5) wearing a white long-sleeved button down shirt and black pants.
Photo by Syahindah Ishak.
Photo by Syahindah Ishak.
Dee Kosh will begin his sentence today (Aug. 5).
On May 30, 2022, Dee Kosh pleaded guilty to one count of sexual exploitation of a boy under the age of 18, one count of offering money to a boy below 18 for sexual services, and one count of making an obscene film.
Four other charges were taken into consideration in sentencing. He was initially due to be sentenced on Jul. 28, but the sentencing was postponed by a week.
For the charge of attempted sexual exploitation of a young person, the judge sentenced him to 14 weeks' jail. For the charge of communicating with the purpose of obtaining sexual services of a minor, he was sentenced to 18 weeks' jail.
For making an obscene film, he was given four weeks' jail.
The judge ordered that Dee Kosh serve the 14- and 18-week jail sentence consecutively, and the four-week one concurrently.
Present in court supporting Dee Kosh during his sentencing was social media personality Aiman Haikal.
"Now it's time to pay the price"
In an Instagram post uploaded after his sentence was read, Dee Kosh said he was "extremely sorry" for the things he's done and that "now it's time to pay the price".
He said he hoped to be able to talk about his case in the future, before saying goodbye.
Dee Kosh a "seasoned criminal", posting YouTube video was an act of sub judice: Prosecution
Dee Kosh returned to court on Aug. 3, where both the prosecution and defence made oral arguments.
A judge had earlier ordered that Dee Kosh undergo a psychiatric assessment at the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) to assess whether he had a paedophilic disorder.
According to CNA, the court heard on Aug. 3 that Dee Kosh does not suffer from paedophilic disorder, and that his risk of offending was low.
The defence sought for a two-and-a-half month jail term for him.
However, the prosecution argued that Dee Kosh's offences were highly premeditated and persistent, as reported by CNA.
The deputy public prosecutor (DPP) described him as a "seasoned criminal skilled at avoiding detection" and used his celebrity status to lure his victims.
The prosecution sought a longer jail term of five to eight months' jail.
Video shared by Dee Kosh while case was ongoing
The DPP also took issue with a YouTube video he posted about his case in January this year, and said that doing so was an act of sub judice conduct, as his case was still before the courts.
Dee Kosh later removed the video, at the prosecution's request.
The DPP said that in posting the video, Dee Kosh was trying to mislead the public that he had mistaken the ages of his victims, when in fact he knew their ages, reported CNA.
The DPP cited Dee Kosh's video as an example of how he was not remorseful for his actions.
In response, Dee Kosh's lawyer said he had made the video to address "false rumours" that were circulating about his case. He then read out other extracts from the video in which Dee Kosh admitted he had made "terrible mistakes".
His lawyer also said that Dee Kosh was relatively young and still had good prospects for rehabilitation.
Background
Faced seven charges
Dee Kosh was slapped with seven charges on Aug. 19, 2021, a year after allegations of his sexual misconduct surfaced online.
They include one charge under the Children and Young Persons Act (CYPA) for attempted sexual exploitation of a child or a young person, one charge for possessing obscene films, two charges for making obscene films, and three charges for commercial sex with a minor under the age of 18, reported Yahoo News.
Allegations surfaced in August 2020
The allegations against Dee Kosh were first surfaced by an Instagram user in August 2020.
The user came forward and alleged that Dee Kosh had asked him for nudes and sexual favours, under the guise of recruiting him as a YouTube talent.
At least four more youths corroborated the first person's allegation with similar accounts.
Dee Kosh subsequently denied having sexual relations with minors, but admitted that there was some "truth to some" of the allegations.
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Top images via Syahindah Ishak and Dee Kosh/YouTube