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Her sexual services had landed 51 of her clients in court for having paid sex with an underage prostitute.
Yesterday, it was the turn of her pimp, Tang Boon Thiew, to turn up in court to face 102 charges. He pleaded guilty to 20 charges.
Court papers stated that Tang first SMSed the underage prostitute , an Institute of Technical Education student, in September 2010 asking if she wanted to earn good money.
When she agreed to take up the offer, he took her to Hotel 81 in Chinatown and took nude pictures of her. Afterwards, she performed oral sex on him and he gave her $50.
Tang, who earned about $185,000 from his online vice ring, will be sentenced next Friday.
Lim Kok Tong, 39, is the 17th man to be dealt with in the case which involved 51 men who have been prosecuted for paid sex with the same 17-year-old girl. -- ST PHOTO: WONG KWAI CHOW
By Elena Chong
A trader was jailed for 16 weeks on Thursday for having commercial sex with a minor in the high-profile online vice ring case.
Lim Kok Tong, 39, is the 17th man to be dealt with in the case which involved 51 men who have been prosecuted for paid sex with the same 17-year-old girl.
Sixteen have been jailed for between nine and 13 weeks for commercial sex with the underage prostitute.The prosecution urged the court to impose between 15 and 20 weeks' jail on Lim on the ground that he intentionally sought the sexual services of a minor below 18 years of age. The married father of two even went as far as indicating to the pimp that he was willing to pay for younger escorts.
Lim admitted to paying $650 to the minor for her sexual services at Hotel 81 in Bencoolen Street on Dec 22, 2010. He could have been jailed for up to seven years and/or fined.
Get the full story from The Straits Times.
Pimp for underage prostitute gets jail term & fine
By Claire Huang | Posted: 11 January 2013 1520 hrs
SINGAPORE: The pimp for an underage girl at the centre of an online vice ring, Tang Boon Thiew, has been sentenced to four years and 10 months in jail and fined S$90,000.
Tang, 39, appealed against the sentence immediately after he was sentenced on Friday afternoon.
He had pleaded guilty to 20 charges, which included living in part on the earnings of prostitutes and abetting men in obtaining the sexual services of the girl, who was then 17 years old.
Eighty-two other charges were taken into consideration.
Senior District Judge See Kee Oon said Tang had no mitigating factors, other than his plea of guilt. He said Tang had no qualms manipulating and deceiving potential clients and went to great lengths to ensure that the clients of the underage girl won't know what her real age was.
Tang is out on bail of S$160,000, which is double the previous amount.
Tang ran a social escort agency where some of the women, including the 17-year-old girl, provided sexual services to the clients.
He pocketed 50 per cent of their earnings.
Between September 2010 and November 2011, he secured nearly 700 bookings for 17 escorts.
During that period, he earned more than S$185,700 from them.
From the 17-year-old girl alone, Tang received about S$21,700 of her earnings.
He obtained the underage girl's mobile phone number from her previous modelling agency and asked if she wanted to "earn good money".
He reportedly told her not to disclose to clients that she was 17 years old.
The court had also heard that Tang moved from being the Southeast Asia head of the marketing team in Internet giant Yahoo! to becoming an online pimp.
His clients included the 51 men who were charged with paying the underage girl for sex.
Sixteen of them have been dealt with, including former Pei Chun Public School principal Lee Lip Hong and green activist Howard Shaw.
Father of 3 jailed for sex with underage girl
By Claire Huang | Posted: 04 March 2013 1229 hrs
SINGAPORE: A man nabbed in a high-profile online vice ring crackdown last year has been sentenced to eight weeks' jail.
Kenny Sim Choon Wee, 39, admitted to having paid sex with a 17-year-old teenager in October 2010 at Hotel 81 in Bencoolen Street.
He was one of 50 men implicated in the online vice ring case.
In his mitigation, his lawyer said the girl, who cannot be named, had deceived the men.
Mr Anand Nalachandran pointed out that Sim was genuinely mistaken and did not seek the services of an underage prostitute.
He added that Sim, who has three children, suffered from cerebral palsy and now has limb spasticity.
Mr Anand urged the court to give a substantial fine instead of a jail term.
But the prosecution argued that the onus was on Sim to verify the age of the girl and that he failed to do so.
It added that the law expected Sim to have exercised due diligence, but he allowed himself to be misled by the representation of the minor on the website.
It asked for a jail term of at least 12 weeks.
But the judge took into account Sim's medical condition and sentenced him to eight weeks' jail instead.
It's understood that Sim is appealing against the sentence.
Swiss national to go on trial for online vice ring case
By Claire Huang | Posted: 06 March 2013 1445 hrs
SINGAPORE: A Swiss national accused of having paid sex with an underage girl will be the first to fight the case this month.
Juerg Buergin, 41, was one of 51 men implicated in the high-profile online vice ring crackdown last year.
The former executive director at UBS Investment Bank faces two charges - he allegedly paid the girl a total of S$1,250 for sex in September 2010 and in January 2011.
Buergin's lawyer, Selva K Naidu, said trial dates have been fixed for five days this month. The trial begins on March 19.
A large part of the defence's case would be whether mens rea (a guilty mind) is required to constitute the offence.
In this case, the lawyer said the accused did not have a guilty mind, which meant that he would not have known that the girl was a minor and hence he is not guilty of the offence.
So far, 18 out of 51 men have been dealt with.
They include former executive director of the Singapore Environment Council, Howard Shaw, and former school principal Lee Lip Hong.
Woman at centre of underage paid sex to testify in-camera
By Alvina Soh | Posted: 19 March 2013 1325 hrs
SINGAPORE: The 20-year-old woman at the centre of an underage paid sex scandal will testify in-camera in the trial of a Swiss national accused of paying her for sex.
The court decided on this on the opening day of the trial of Juerg Buergin on Tuesday.
The 41-year-old former executive director at UBS Investment Bank is the first of 51 men accused of paying the same girl for sex to fight the charges.
His lawyer and the prosecution argued over whether the witness should testify in-camera, away from the public eye.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Kavitha Uthrapathy pushed for a private court hearing, saying the woman is a "very vulnerable witness" and is "susceptible to mental and emotional injury".
She pointed out that the witness, who turned 20 a few days ago, might have to testify in potentially 30 trials and deserves protection.
Defence lawyer Selva K Naidu said it is "difficult to accept she was a victim".
He felt that the risk of damage to her reputation or the "embarrassing nature of evidence" is not sufficient shield her from a public hearing.
The District Judge agreed with Mr Naidu that there was no coercion involved but shared the prosecution's view that she is a minor who needs to be protected under the law here.
He added that given high publicity of the case and in the interest of justice, her evidence should be given in-camera.
Buergin, wearing a suit with a red tie, declared in court that he is not guilty.
A father of two, he allegedly paid the girl a total of $1,250 for sex in September 2010 and in January 2011.
Three witnesses - a forensic analyst, a security director at Shangri-La Hotel and a fraud manager with M1, have taken the stand so far.
Tang Boon Thiew, who is allegedly her pimp, took the stand on Tuesday afternoon.
He told the court that he didn't recognise Buergin as he had never met his clients.
When asked why he did not change the girl's age to 18 on the website that promised sexual services, when he found out her real age in 2010, Tang replied that the girl was 17 years and 8 months old, and it appeared logical to him to round up her age.
Ex-UBS Executive Deceived by Girl and Pimp, Lawyer Says
By Andrea Tan - Mar 19, 2013 1:57 PM GMT+0800
Juerg Buergin, a former executive director of operations at UBS AG (UBSN) in Singapore, was deceived by an underaged prostitute and her pimp into believing she was 18, according to his lawyer.
The girl, now 20, wasn’t a victim and should testify publicly, Buergin’s lawyer Selva Naidu told a Singapore subordinate court today on the first day of the Swiss national’s trial. Judge Eddy Tham agreed with prosecutors that she give evidence privately.
Buergin, 41, is the first of 51 men charged by police for having paid sex with the girl to stand trial. At least 18 men, including a member of the Shaw family that built an Asian movie production and real estate empire, have been sentenced to jail after admitting to paying for sex with a minor.
Buergin, married with two children, allegedly committed the offenses at the Shangri-La Hotel in September 2010 and the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in January 2011.
The maximum penalty for paid sex in Singapore with someone under 18 is a seven-year jail term and an unspecified fine.
The criminal case is Public Prosecutor v Buergin Juerg. DAC13762/2013. Singapore Subordinate Courts.
To contact the reporter on this story: Andrea Tan in Singapore at [email protected]
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Douglas Wong at [email protected]
Ex-UBS man met with at least 10 escorts, court hears
Former USB-banker Juerg Buergin arrives at court with his lawyer Selva K Naidu on March 19, 2013. The Swiss national is claiming trial for having commercial sex with a minor. Photo: Ernest Chua
BY ASHLEY CHIA
SINGAPORE — Former UBS executive director Juerg Buergin had met with at least 10 escorts from the online agency operated by Tang Boon Thiew between Sept 29, 2010 and Nov 7, 2011, the court heard today.
The Swiss national, who married with two children and is the first to claim trial in the high-profile online vice ring scandal, had assumed that the escorts were all aged between 18 and 43.
On the few occasions when the escorts he requested were not available, Tang would recommend other girls to Beurgin, including “Chantelle”, the then underaged girl at the centre of the case.
Chantelle, now aged 20, was 17 at the time she had sex with Beurgin.
Beurgin, 41, is charged with two counts of having commercial sex with a minor below 18 years old twice on Sept 29 2010 at the Shangri-La Hotel and on Jan 3, 2011 at Mandarin Oriental Hotel.
He has pleaded not guilty and is seeking to prove to the court that he had in fact been cheated by Tang, who he alleged deliberately hid Chantelle’s real age.
The website where Beurgin got to know about Chantelle had also stated that she was 18 years old.
Whenever she met clients, Chantelle had brought along her the identity card of her elder sister who was two years older.
It was also heard in court that Tang had told Chantelle that she should pick up more clients as she wanted to earn more money.
Chantelle takes the stand today behind closed doors.
UNDERAGE PROSTITUTE IN ONLINE VICE-RING CASE TESTIFIES BEHIND CLOSED DOORS
20 Mar 2013
The underage prostitute at the centre of the online vice-ring case testified behind closed doors in a district court on Wed (Mar 20).
White paper was used to cover the windows on the door of the court, just before the woman was called to the stand after the pimp, Tang Boon Thiew, 39, had completed his evidence on the stand.
The Straits Times reported that the 20-year-old woman was 17-years-old when her trysts with Swiss national Juerg Buergin occurred.
Mr Buergin, a 41-year-old former executive director of UBS, is on trial for paying $600 for a minor's sexual services at Shangri-La Hotel on Sept 29, 2010, and $650 at Mandarin Marina Hotel on Jan 3, 2011.
Defence lawyer Selva K. Naidu produced a document showing that his client Buergin had made bookings for the escorts' services over a period of about a year until October 2011.
Some of the bookings did not go through but in all, he met 10 women, including the minor, in hotels such as St Regis, Grand Hyatt and Marina Mandarin. The other women were all above 18, the oldest being 43.
Minor in underage sex case told pimp: Raise my fee or I'll quit
March 20, 2013 - 12:58am
By: Elizabeth Law
ST FILE PHOTO
When he first hired her as a social escort in 2010, she asked for a much higher price than he was willing to give.
Tang Boon Thiew (above) told a district court yesterday that the girl in the middle of the online vice ring case, who goes by the moniker Chantelle, then agreed to an initial booking fee of $400.
But as time went by, she demanded for the pimp to increase her fees or she would leave for another social escort agency.
Tang, 39, was testifying at the trial of Juerg Buergin, 41, who faces two charges of commercial sex with a minor.
He allegedly had sex with her on two occasions -- on Sept 29, 2010, at the Shangri-La Hotel, and on Jan 3, 2011, at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel - paying $600 for the first encounter, and $650 for the second.
Read the full report in The New Paper on Wednesday (March 20).
Girl at centre of online vice ring case testifies in court
By Alvina Soh | Posted: 20 March 2013 2219 hrs
SINGAPORE: The 20-year-old girl at the centre of the high-profile online vice ring case testified for the first time on Wednesday at the trial of Swiss national Juerg Buergin.
In a private court session, she claimed that she recognised 41-year-old Buergin out of the 80 clients she provided sexual services to.
For three hours, the courtroom windows remained sealed up with white paper while a security guard prevented curious members of the public from entering the courtroom as the girl gave evidence that she had paid sex with Buergin on 29 September 2010 and 3 January 2011.
The prosecution told an open court later that the girl recognised Buergin as he "was white", and that she had sex with fewer than "three white guys".
The girl also remembered having to change condom while having sex with Buergin on 3 January 2011. She was using a particular brand of condom and she felt uncomfortable.
She also testified that she had sex with him at luxury hotels whereas other clients brought her to budget hotels.
The court also heard that Buergin would pay her upfront which she said was a "rare thing".
In addition, he would pass her the money in a hotel envelope which was another distinguishing trait.
The court also heard that the girl was among 10 other escorts that Buergin had met through the same website.
Whenever the escorts that Buergin requested were unavailable, their pimp Tang Boon Thiew would recommend another woman.
This arrangement was revealed during the second day of the trial of the former executive director of UBS Investment Bank.
Buergin's lawyer, Mr Selva K Naidu, read out a string of text messages between his client and Tang from September 2010 to November 2011.
Throughout their exchanges, Buergin used the name "Robert James".
Between September 2010 and November 2011, Buergin met them at hotels, including the Marina Mandarin Hotel, Grand Hyatt Hotel and St Regis Hotel.
The trial will resume on March 25 with Buergin taking the stand.
The father-of-two is the first of 51 men accused of paying the same girl for sex to fight the charges.
Swiss national in online vice ring case takes the stand for the first time
By Alvina Soh | Posted: 25 March 2013 1640 hrs
SINGAPORE: Swiss national Juerg Buergin on trial for allegedly having paid sex with an underage girl has taken the stand for the first time.
He told the court that he could not remember the girl whom he allegedly had sex with twice.
The 41-year-old added that he could not recognise the girl even when she turned up in court to testify last week.
On both occasions - 29 September 2010 and 3 January 2011 - Buergin said he could not recall what had happened in the hotel rooms - if he had "full sex, oral sex or masturbation with the girl."
Several times throughout the three-hour hearing, Buergin added that he could not recall the exact amount that he had paid her.
He also could not remember paying the money in an envelope or changing the condom during sex - details which the girl had earlier testified to.
In response, the prosecution noted that Buergin had forked out "close to S$1,000" during each meeting with the girl, inclusive of her rates and the hotel room.
Buergin did state that he was aware that it was illegal to have paid sex with a girl under 18 years old.
He also admitted to not asking the girl for her age or checking her identity card on both occasions.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Kavitha Uthrapathy brought up the pimp's message to Buergin to meet the girl earlier before 10pm as she was only 18.
Buergin said it did not raise any red flags that the girl could not stay out too late, or that she was under parental control.
Buergin, who has an 11-year-old child, also admitted to being a regular client of the website where he procured the girl from.
He said he had expected all information including the girls' ages to be accurate, except for their monikers.
Buergin, who used his own moniker "Robert James" to contact the pimp, said he did so to protect his reputation.
He claimed that he was "misled" by both the website and the girl herself to her actual age.
When questioned why he had procured her services, Buergin replied he was "giving into temptation."
Online vice case: Swiss can't remember if he had sex with escort
Published on Mar 25, 2013
Former banker Juerg Buergin arriving at the Subordinate Courts on 19 March 2013. Buergin denied on Monday that he actively sought out the services of an escort below 18 years of age. -- ST FILE PHOTO: LIM SIN THAI
By Elena Chong And Walter Sim
Former banker Juerg Buergin denied on Monday that he actively sought out the services of an escort below 18 years of age.
The 41-year-old Swiss national said in his defence that he could not remember if he had sex with the escort, then 17, whose age was given on the website as 18.
Buergin, who is accused of two counts of having commercial sex with the minor, said he relied on the age indicated on the website called theviemodels.
He said he did not check the identity card of the escort nor any of the escorts he had booked with the online agency as he did not think any of them would have shown their identity cards even if he had asked.
He said he was misled by both the agency and the girl that she was 18.
Underage prostitute in paid sex trial says Swiss national stood out among her clients
March 29, 2013 - 1:21am
By: Elizabeth Law
TNP PHOTO: Gavin Foo
The underage prostitute at the heart of the online vice ring case said she could remember that she had sexual intercourse with Swiss national Juerg Buergin (above), 41, who is accused of two counts of paying for sex with a minor.
During cross examination, defence lawyer Selva K. Naidu had suggested that since she had close to 80 bookings with 64 men in five months, she might not remember having sex with Buergin.
But in its closing submissions on Thursday, the prosecution said she “was sure” that she slept with all her clients except for six, and he was not one of them.
There were also a number of reasons that Buergin stood out among her customers.
He was one of “less than three” Caucasians she had serviced, he always chose luxury hotels, paid her upfront on the first occasion and always put the cash in hotel envelopes.
Read the full report in The New Paper on Friday (March 29).
Businessman denies having sex with underage prostitute
A businessman maintained in court that he did not have paid sex with an underage prostitute, saying that his police statement was made under duress.
SINGAPORE: A businessman in court Monday maintained that he did not have paid sex with an underage prostitute, saying that his police statement was made under duress and thus not admissible in court.
The 50-year-old businessman Edward Whistler Goh is implicated in an online vice ring case and is accused of having commercial sex with an underage prostitute.
Goh is contesting allegations that he had paid sex with the underage prostitute in September 2010 and October 2011. Court documents stated he paid the girl, who was then under the age of 18, a total of S$950 for her services.
A hearing known as "a trial within a trial" is underway. The court will decide at the end of the “trial within a trial” whether Goh’s police statement was made voluntary, and thus admissible. The main trial will then start after that.
Goh is one of 51 men to be charged with having commercial sex with the minor. He is the second man to contest the charges, following Swiss national Juerg Buergin.
Goh can be fined and jailed up to seven years if found guilty.
Online vice ring: Accused admits to sex with minor, but only after they 'became friends'
By Tham Yuen-c
The Straits Times
Thursday, Apr 11, 2013
SINGAPORE - Edward Whistler Goh Ngian Meng, the second man claiming trial in the online vice ring case, revealed in court on Thursday that those trysts took place in 2011, and that he had contacted the girl directly.
Get the full story from The Straits Times.
They paid up to $750 for sex
Businesman Edward Whistler Goh Ngian Meng, 49, was also charged on Wednesday.
He is listed as the founder and CEO of Edward Whistler International Group, which specialises in business consulting and management training.
He allegedly paid $450 to sleep with Miss XXX at Hotel 81 Bencoolen on Sept 26, 2010, at about 7pm.
For another $500, he allegedly slept with her again at 5pm on Oct 24 last year, at a condominium unit near Katong.
Business consultant says he only had sex with prostitute after she turned 18
By Claire Huang
POSTED: 11 Apr 2013 7:00 PM
A business consultant accused of having commercial sex with an underage prostitute said Thursday that he only had sex with her after she turned 18.
Edward Whistler Goh (photo: Francine Lim, channelnewsasia.com)
SINGAPORE: A business consultant accused of having commercial sex with an underage prostitute said Thursday that he had sex with her in 2011 but not in 2010, when she was still under 18 years of age.
Edward Whistler Goh faces two counts of having paid sex with a minor - once in September 2010 and another in October 2010.
Goh said in court Thursday that he told the officer recording his police statement that he met the girl several times. Goh added that he also told the recording officer he did not have sex with her on the two occasions in 2010 that he has been accused of.
The 50-year-old said the investigation officer was only interested in the two charges, and that he told the officer he also had sex with the girl in 2011.
The prosecution, in an attempt to poke holes in Goh's testimony and discredit him, took issue with Goh’s revelation in court.
The prosecutor said Goh did not mention any of the above during Wednesday's questioning, for which Goh apologised.
Goh is currently contesting the admissibility of his police statement, maintaining that the statement was made under threats and inducement.
The court will decide at the end of a “trial within a trial” whether Goh’s police statement was made voluntarily, and thus admissible. The main trial will then start after that.
The business consultant has accused his recording officer of threatening to charge him with various crimes if he did not cooperate during the investigation.
The threats include charging him for being a runner and helping out with the prostitution ring, as well as having commercial sex with a minor, said Goh.
The prosecution however questioned the rationale of Goh admitting to having commercial sex with the girl, as opposed to being charged for not cooperating with the police.
Goh then explained that the officer promised twice that he would not be charged.
The district judge then asked what happened to the threats.
Goh said the threats persisted and that there were untruths in his statement. "All I know was I wanted to get out of the place," said Goh.
The prosecution then asked why Goh signed the statement even though there were so many untruths in it.
Goh replied saying that he was anxious to get out of the police station, and that the officer told him he had to sign the statement before he could go.
Goh is one of 51 men to be charged with having commercial sex with the minor. He is the second man to contest the charges, following Swiss national Juerg Buergin.
Goh can be fined and jailed up to seven years if found guilty.
Business consultant in online vice ring scandal described as "prim and proper"
By Claire Huang
POSTED: 12 Apr 2013 4:28 PM
A business consultant fighting allegations he had commercial sex with an underage girl in an online vice ring scandal has been described as "prim and proper" by a prosecution witness.
SINGAPORE: A business consultant fighting allegations he had commercial sex with an underage girl in an online vice ring scandal has been described as "prim and proper" by a prosecution witness.
Edward Whistler Goh, 50, is accused of having paid sex with a minor under 18 years of age in September and October 2010.
Tang Boon Thiew, who had hired the minor to provide escort services, testified in court as a prosecution witness on Friday.
Tang, 39, was sentenced earlier in January 2013 for vice-related charges.
The pimp told the court that Goh fell into the rare category of "prim and proper", which was why he allowed his escort to go to the accused's home.
He said for safety reasons, he usually does not accept home bookings.
On the events that transpired on the day Goh and the girl had an appointment in September 2010, Tang testified that he did not think the two could have had sex in the 40 minutes, given that many things happened.
The court had previously heard the appointment that day was at 5pm but the minor was about 10 minutes late and at about 5.45pm a police raid started at the hotel the duo were checked into.
Goh and the girl were said to have checked out of their room shortly after 6pm.
During the time when the Goh and the girl were in the room, Tang said he was conversing with the two via phone messages, so he believes that they could not have had time to have sex.
The prosecution's re-examination begins after lunch.
Online vice ring trial: Pimp says he cannot be sure if accused had sex with underage escort
Published on Apr 12, 2013
Tang Boon Thiew (above), the pimp who twice arranged for the underage escort to meet with business consultant Edward Whistler Goh Ngian Meng, told the court on Friday that he was not aware if they had sex. -- ST PHOTO: WONG KWAI CHOW
By Tham Yuen-c
The pimp who twice arranged for the underage escort to meet with business consultant Edward Whistler Goh Ngian Meng, told the court on Friday that he was not aware if they had sex.
Testifying as a prosecution witness at the trial of his former client, Tang Boon Thiew insisted that his online escort business sold the "companionship" of the girls, and not sex.
But he said he would leave it to his escorts to decide if they wanted to have sex with the men, and also did not know or care if the had done so.
This was the case, he claimed, when he arranged for a girl who was not yet 18 years old to meet Goh, 50, at Hotel 81 Bencoolen on Sep 29, 2010, and at Goh's Katong apartment on Oct 24 a month later.
"i dunno lah!" "boh wah eh taijee lah!"
