After paying a 17-year-old girl for her sexual services, a man found himself being threatened by the girl and her friend to pay them for their silence, or they would go to the police.

He offered to pay a few thousand dollars but ended up paying S$50,000 after negotiations.

A month later, he went to the police to report being "scammed".

Another year later, on Apr. 12, 2024, the man, now 35 years old, was sentenced to jail for nine weeks for paying a minor for sexual services.

Under Singapore law, it is a crime to pay for sexual services from minors below the age of 18 — whether in Singapore or outside of Singapore.

Man gave girl S$600 in exchange for sexual services

In February 2023, the man arranged for sexual services through a third party in a Telegram chat group.

He then met the girl in the wee hours of Feb. 26, 2023.

When he asked her age, she told him that she was 17.

After providing the man with sexual services in a Lengkok Bahru toilet near Redhill Road, the girl received S$600, of which S$200 was handed to the middleman.

They also exchanged Telegram contact information.

He then paid S$350 for her sexual services again on Mar. 2, 2023.

Extortion

Further details of the case were reported by The Straits Times and Today earlier this year.

On Mar. 6, 2023, the man invited the girl to the movies with him, promising her S$400.

She accepted and told an older friend about him.

They then planned to extort money from him, making use of the fact he had knowingly obtained sexual services from a minor.

The three met at a multi-storey car park in Choa Chu Kang.

The girls told him he could be jailed if they were to tell the police what he had done and threatened to lodge a police report if he refused to pay up.

The man initially offered to pay between S$2,000 and S$5,000.

In response, the girl told him she was S$100,000 in debt.

Eventually, they agreed upon a payment of S$50,000 in exchange for the girls’ silence.

Man told the police about 'scam'

On Apr. 3, 2023, the man reported to the police he had been “scammed”.

The next day, he was arrested, as was the younger girl.

The man pleaded guilty to one count of procuring sexual services from a minor, with another similar charge taken into consideration for sentencing.

The prosecution asked for a custodial sentence, as even though the man had not actively sought commercial sex with a minor, he had asked and found out about her age.

Even though the man had claimed he did not know that a person below 18 years old was considered a minor, the prosecutor pointed out that the High Court had previously ruled that "ignorance of the law is not a defence".

The older girl pleaded guilty to one count each of cheating and extortion on Feb. 22, 2024.

She was ordered to undergo at least six months of reformative training.

The younger girl’s case is pending.

Top photo via Pexels