A 29-year-old man in Singapore has pleaded guilty in a court in the country for engaging in a sexual act with a 14-year-old girl that was arranged by her teenage male acquaintances.
The accused, Terrance Teo Jian Xiang, was charged with one count of sex with a minor aged below 16 and was sentenced to 7 months in jail.
Teenage male acquaintances of the victim advertised her sexual services on Telegram
For illustration purposes
As reported by CNA, the identities of the 14-year-old victim and her two male acquaintances are protected by a gag order in Singapore, with the two teenage boys named A1 and A2 in court documents.
The victim had met A1 on Instagram, and on 4 July 2024, she didn’t return home after school but went to meet with him and told him that she needed a place to stay.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Melissa Heng revealed in court,
“A1 told her that he could find a place for her to stay. However, in exchange, the victim would have to provide sexual services for men. The victim agreed as she felt that she had no choice.”
A1 introduced the victim to A2, who then advertised sexual services in a Telegram chat group named “Watermelon”.
The accused agreed to pay SGD200 for the victim’s sexual service that was arranged by her male acquaintances
The accused, Terrance Teo Jian Xiang
On 5 July 2024, the accused posted in the chat group to look for sexual services and received a response from A1 and A2 on the same day.
They arranged for the accused to buy a sexual service for SGD200 or RM662. The accused then met with the victim at an HDB block in Punggol, where he paid the amount via QR code to an account in A2’s name.
The accused didn’t ask for the victim’s name or age, and didn’t check her IC or other identification.
The victim then set a 2-minute alarm on her phone and performed a sexual act on the accused until the timer went off. The victim then said she had to go and left.
Unsatisfied, the accused messaged A1 or A2 asking why the sexual act lasted only 2 minutes. When asked for a review, he said the service was not provided in full. The Telegram chat was subsequently deleted.
The accused could’ve faced up to 10 years in jail
For illustration purposes
The accused was arrested on 29 August 2024, though the court documents didn’t reveal how the offence was discovered.
For the offence, the accused could’ve been sentenced to imprisonment of up to 10 years, a fine or both.
While the prosecution urged the court to jail him for 8 months, the accused’s lawyer sought not more than 5 months in jail, arguing that the accused genuinely believed the victim was of legal age and that “her behaviour supported that belief”.
The accused’s lawyer added that he would not have committed the sexual act if he had known the victim was underage. Furthermore, the lawyer argued that it was a one-off transaction arranged by someone he didn’t know and that he didn’t groom the victim or put pressure on her.
The court then sentenced the accused to 7 months in jail.
Besides the accused, 2 other men will be charged in court for sexual offences involving the same victim, which are 24-year-old Goh Shao Heng and 28-year-old Yong Eak Chung.
