S'porean man, 29, gets 7 months' jail for sexual act with girl, 14, arranged by her male acquaintances, both 16

A 29-year-old man was sentenced to seven months in jail on June 24 for engaging in a sexual act with a 14-year-old girl.

The encounter was set up by the girl’s 16-year-old male acquaintances, who promised her accommodation in return for offering sexual services to men.

Terrance Teo Jian Xiang, 29, was charged with having sex with a minor aged below 16 and was sentenced to seven months' jail on Jun. 24.

A gag order was placed on the victim and the two 16-year-olds.

Girl agreed to sexual services as "she felt that she had no choice"

The 14-year-old girl had met the male teen acquaintance A1 through Instagram, according to court documents seen by Mothership.

She had met up with the acquaintance on Jul. 4, 2024, to ask for a place to stay, where the latter responded he could, but in exchange, she had to offer sexual services to men.

The girl, who was living at a girls' home at that time, "agreed as she felt that she had no choice," said Deputy Public Prosecutor Melissa Heng.

A1 then introduced her to his friend A2, who subsequently advertised sexual services on a Telegram chat group named “Watermelon”.

Teo met the girl at an HDB block in Punggol

Teo was browsing through "Watermelon" the next day and posted a message in one of the subchannels that he was looking for a service.

A1 or A2 reached out to Teo within the same day, where Teo then bought a sexual service for S$200 and arranged for the service to be conducted that evening.

Teo met the girl at an HDB block in Punggol that evening, where she asked him if he was sent by "the boss" and Teo replied yes.

Teo proceeded to make the payment via PayNow through a QR code to an account registered in A2’s name.

"The accused did not ask for the victim’s name, did not ask for her age, and did not check her NRIC or any other photo identification," said Heng.

The victim set a two-minute alarm on her phone and performed the sexual act.

After the timer went off, the victim said she had to leave and left.

Teo messaged A1 or A2 and asked why the service was only for two minutes.

Either A1 or A2 requested a review, and Teo responded that the service was not provided in full.

The Telegram chat was then deleted by A1 or A2.

Teo was arrested on Aug. 29, 2024, and was released on station bail on the same day.

Lawyer argue Teo genuinely believed girl was of legal age

The prosecution had requested an eight-month jail sentence for Teo, while his defence lawyer Zheng Yirong sought not more than five months.

Zheng argued that her client genuinely believed the girl was of legal age and he would not have gone through with the sexual act if he had known the girl was underage, according to CNA.

Zheng further said that the girl's "behaviour supported that belief".

She also noted the offence was a one-time incident arranged by someone Teo was unfamiliar with, and that he neither groomed the victim nor coerced her.

For sexually assaulting a minor, a person can be given a maximum of ten years, a fine, or both.

Top image via Canva