"Online prostitution ring" under probe

[rolleyez]

Two in online vice ring appeal against sentence, decision on Aug 30

Published on Aug 16, 2013

Former financial planner Kenny Sim Choon Wee was sentenced to eight weeks' jail for commercial sex with an underage girl. He is one of the two men in a long-running vice ring case who appealed on Friday against jail sentences for commercial sex with a minor. -- ST FILE PHOTO: WONG KWAI CHOW

By Elena Chong

Two men in a long-running online vice ring case appealed on Friday against their jail sentences for commercial sex with a minor.

Justice Choo Han Teck deferred his decision to Aug 30 after listening to the arguments presented by the appellants and the prosecution.

Ex-portfolio manager Ng Guan Mean, 38, and former financial planner Kenny Sim Choon Wee, 40, were among 51 men charged with having commercial sex with the same underage escort.

They are the first two to appeal against their sentence.

Get the full story from The Straits Times.

 

[ShangTsung]

Ex-banker drops appeal against district court ruling

Former Swiss banker Juerg Buergin was convicted on 30 April 2013 of two charges of having commercial sex with an underage escort in the online vice-ring case.

K.c Vijayan
The Straits Times
Monday, Sep 02, 2013

SINGAPORE - The former banker jailed for 19 weeks for paying for sex with an underage girl has dropped his appeal to the highest court.

Swiss national Juerg Buergin is understood to have left Singapore after completing his jail term earlier this month.

His appeal hearing had been scheduled for next week, but his lawyer Selva K. Naidu declined to say why it was discontinued on Friday.

The move means the Court of Appeal will not be called upon to affirm or clarify the "public interest" issue that could have affected others similarly convicted.

The 41-year-old former UBS executive director was convicted by a district court in April on two charges of paying a 17-year-old for sex and was sentenced to 19 weeks' jail.

The two offences occurred in hotels in September 2010 and January 2011.

Criminal case appeals against district court judgments ordinarily end in the High Court. Any further application to the Court of Appeal is considered only when the issues involve interpretation of the law which is of public interest.

The district court found Buergin did not know the girl was underage and the issue of lack of knowledge about her age was central in his defence.

His was the first of 51 cases involving the same girl to be tested on appeal to the High Court.

It dismissed his appeal against conviction in June and he then applied to seek the Court of Appeal's ruling on whether he had to have known the girl was underage to be found guilty.

Criminal lawyer Subhas Anandan, who is representing several of the 51 men accused of having sex with the girl, said Buergin's appeal would have settled an important question of law of public interest.

He added that he might apply on behalf of one of his clients through a "leap-frog" procedure for the appeals court to settle the same issue. If approved, it would be heard directly by the appeals court.

 

[Untouchables]

Online vice ring: First two men to appeal against jail sentences fail in their bids

Published on Sep 20, 2013

The first two men to appeal against their jail sentences for commercial sex with a minor, in a long-running online vice ring case, failed in their bids on Friday. Ex-portfolio manager Ng Guan Mean, 38, and former financial planner Kenny Sim Choon Wee (above), 40, were among 51 men charged last year with having commercial sex with the same underage escort. -- ST FILE PHOTO: WONG KWAI CHOW

By Ian Poh

The first two men to appeal against their jail sentences for commercial sex with a minor, in a long-running online vice ring case, failed in their bids on Friday. Ex-portfolio manager Ng Guan Mean, 38, and former financial planner Kenny Sim Choon Wee, 40, were among 51 men charged last year with having commercial sex with the same underage escort.

Their punishments of nine and eight weeks in jail respectively were upheld by the High Court. Turning down the appeals, Justice Choo Han Teck said on Friday that three factors in favour of the men had elicited "some sympathy" from the court.

These included the girl being nearly of full age and the seriousness of the offence not having been made clear enough to both general public and the two men. Yet, "the warmth of sympathy" subsequently turned cold after the "many new offences" that followed, said the judge.

To date, 20 men have been sentenced to between eight and 19 weeks' jail for commercial sex with the minor. All pleaded guilty except Swiss national Juerg Buergin. The 41-year-old, a former bank executive director, lost his appeal and was understood to have left Singapore last month after completing his 19-week jail term. The escort's pimp, Tang Boon Thiew, was jailed four years and 10 months and fined $90,000 for 20 vice-related charges. The 39-year-old lost his appeal against his sentence in June.

 

[Untouchables]

Updated: 09/27/2013 18:17 | By Channel NewsAsia

Former underwriter jailed for paid sex with minor

SINGAPORE: A former underwriter was jailed 12 weeks by a district court on Friday for having paid sex with a minor.

45-year-old Frederick Chen Kwek Kwong is the 21st man in the high-profile online vice ring case to have been convicted and sentenced to date.

Last year, 51 men were charged with having paid sex with an underage girl, who was 17 years old at the time of the offences.

In the latest case, Chen admitted to paying S$450 for the girl's services in October 2010.

The girl was among a list of escorts on a website operated by pimp Tang Boon Thiew, and she was described as an 18-year-old polytechnic student.

The court heard that Chen had booked her services through Tang and met her in a room at Hotel 81 on Bencoolen Street on 1 October 2010.

He did not ask her age before having sex with her.

Chen could have been jailed up to seven years and fined.

So far, most of the men sentenced in the online vice ring received a jail term of between 11 and 12 weeks.

Tang, the pimp, was convicted in January this year and sentenced to a 58-month jail term and fined S$90,000. - CNA/nd

 

[Untouchables]

23rd man in online underage sex case gets 12 weeks' jail

Published on Oct 16, 2013

By Elena Chong

A salesman who had commercial sex with a 17-year-old girl in the online vice ring case was jailed for 12 weeks on Wednesday.

Sng Kok Wee, 31, is the 23rd man to be dealt with to-date. He was among 51 men charged last year with paid sex with the same girl.

A district court heard that Sng came across a website on escorts who provided sexual services. The girl was among the escorts working for Tang Boon Thiew, 40, and was described as an 18-year-old polytechnic student on the website.

After seeing her details, Sng was keen to engage her services and sent text messages to Tang to find out if she was available on Oct 10, 2010. He was quoted $450 for an hour of the girl's sexual services and the location was Hotel 81 Bencoolen.

Get the full story from The Straits Times.

 

[Untouchables]

Online vice ring: Ex-navy engineer is the second man to be convicted after a trial

Published on Oct 17, 2013

Kwa Wee Nam was jailed for four months on Thursday after he was convicted of commercial sex with an underage escort in the online vice ring case. -- ST PHOTO: WONG KWAI CHOW

By Elena Chong

A mechanical engineer was jailed for four months on Thursday after he was convicted of commercial sex with an underage escort in the online vice ring case.

Kwa Wee Nam, 34, is the second man after Swiss national Juerg Buergin to have been convicted after trial of having paid sex with the 17-year-old. The former navy engineer was found guilty of paying $450 for the teen's sexual services at Hotel 81 Bencoolen on Oct 8, 2010.

He was among 51 men charged last year in the high-profile case involving the same minor. He is the 24th man to be sentenced so far. Most of the previous offenders who pleaded guilty have been jailed 12 weeks each. Buergin, 42, who was convicted of two charges, has served his four-month and three-week sentence.

Kwa's defence was that he had paid sex with another escort at the hotel, not the minor. The escort, then 35, however, testified that she had never seen Kwa before and that she had no impression of him.

Neither did she know the minor nor any of the other escorts working for Tang Boon Thiew, the pimp, who ran the website to market the services of social escorts. The maximum penalty for the offence is seven years' jail and a fine.

 

[chinasuckz]

Updated: 10/25/2013 18:09 | By Channel NewsAsia

Man in online vice ring case found guilty

SINGAPORE: The second man who claimed trial in the high-profile online vice ring case involving pimp Tang Boon Thiew was on Friday found guilty.

Business consultant Edward Whistler Goh was convicted of paying an underage prostitute S$900 for sex on two occasions -- once in September and another in October 2010.

At the time of the offences, the prostitute was below the age of 18.

In giving her grounds for decision, District Judge Jasbendar Kaur said she was "very conscious" the prosecution's case hinged largely on the evidence of the minor.

She said she took into consideration the defence's claims that Goh did not have sex with the girl on the first occasion as there was a police raid.

The defence's argument for the second charge was that Goh was unable to perform sexually as he was under the weather.

The judge said she paid particular attention to the inconsistencies raised by the defence as to the minor's credibility and was satisfied that the girl was telling the truth during the trial.

Shortly after the verdict was delivered, Goh, who was initially standing in the dock, slumped onto the bench.

He was seen breathing heavily, and had to lie on the bench at one point.

Goh's case will be mentioned again on November 13.

The 50-year-old is the second man to claim trial after former Swiss banker Juerg Buergin.

Buergin, convicted of having sex with the same girl, had received a jail term of four months and three weeks.

So far, 24 of the 51 men involved in the case have been dealt with.

Tang had run a website offering services from a list of escorts, including sexual services from the underage girl.

He is now in jail. - CNA/gn

 

[chinasuckz]

Updated: 11/13/2013 16:37 | By Channel NewsAsia

Man sentenced to four months' jail for having paid sex with minor

SINGAPORE: A business consultant who paid a minor for sex in a high-profile online vice ring case was on Wednesday sentenced to four months' jail.

Edward Whistler Goh was convicted on October 25 of paying a 17-year-old S$900 for sex on two occasions - once in September and another in October 2010.

District Judge Jasbendar Kaur said during sentencing that she noted Goh did not actively seek the sexual services of the underage girl.

She pointed out that the girl was almost 18 at the time of the offences.

But the judge explained that the law seeks to protect vulnerable minors, and a deterrent sentence is necessary, even if Goh is not likely to re-offend.

The 50-year-old bachelor, who is the second man to claim trial after former Swiss banker Juerg Buergin, is appealing against his conviction.

Buergin, who was found guilty of having sex with the same girl, had received a jail term of four months and three weeks.

So far, 26 of the 51 men involved in the case have been dealt with. - CNA/gn

 

[Untouchables]

Updated: 11/18/2013 18:13 | By Channel NewsAsia

Man jailed for sex with underage prostitute and two other offences

Suspect: Qiu WenBo @ Allan Khoo Wenbo

SINGAPORE: A man who had sex with a 17-year-old prostitute and ran away without paying was on Monday sentenced to seven months' jail.

Khoo Wenbo, 28, had booked the girl for sexual services in December 2010.

While the prostitute was in the shower, Khoo did a check and discovered she was under 18 years old at that time.

So he decided to have her perform oral sex on him, thinking that would not be against the law.

While the minor was in the shower after sex, Khoo fled the hotel room without paying. Khoo is the 27th man to be sentenced in the high profile online vice ring case involving pimp Tang Boon Thiew.

The sentence he received on Monday was for having sex with an underage girl and for other offences.

In early December 2011, Khoo had used his friend's identity card to gain access to the Marina Bay Sands casino on two occasions.

The court heard how his friend was not aware his identity card had been used by Khoo.

Another charge of entering the casino without paying the entry levy was taken into consideration during sentencing.

In mitigation, Khoo's defence lawyers urged the court to pass a sentence of four to five months. The defence said Khoo had made a conscious effort not to have sex with the minor.

But the prosecution disagreed and asked for the court to impose a sentence of nine months.

Having heard from both parties, District Judge Chay Yuen Fatt was of the view that the sentence should be between what the prosecution and defence had pushed for. - CNA/nd

 

[Untouchables]

Updated: 11/22/2013 17:08 | By Channel NewsAsia

Man jailed for commercial sex with underage prostitute

Emlyn Thomas Thariyan, 38, a lieutenant-colonel in the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF), was jailed for five months after paying an underage prostitute $500 for sex, on Friday, Nov 22, 2013. -- ST FILE PHOTO: WONG KWAI CHOW

SINGAPORE: The fifth man who challenged the accusation that he had commercial sex with an underage prostitute was on Friday sentenced to five months' jail after he lost the trial.

38-year-old Emlyn Thomas Thariyan was found guilty of paying the 17-year-old girl S$500 for sex in February 2011 after a 10-day trial earlier this year.

In its written submissions, the prosecution asked for Thariyan to be jailed for five months.

But the defence on Friday urged the court to impose the minimum sentence.

Through his lawyer, Thariyan made a request to address the court.

District Judge Eugene Teo allowed it.

Thariyan, a Singapore Armed Forces Lieutenant Colonel, started by saying he has "served this country impeccably".

He said he has given up two years of his time over this case.

Standing in the dock, he said the crux of the case, as explained by the judge, was that this was a case of the minor's words against the accused.

Thariyan then declared that although he has been convicted of the offence, he is "not guilty of this charge".

But Judge Teo said he has previously explained the matter.

Thariyan is appealing against the conviction and sentence.

His bail has been set at S$30,000.

He is the 28th of 51 men in the high-profile online vice ring case to be dealt with so far. - CNA/ms

 

[rolleyez]

Updated: 12/09/2013 12:30 | By Channel NewsAsia

Man jailed for paid sex with minor

SINGAPORE: A former assistant engineer with the Singapore Air Force was on Monday jailed nine weeks for paying a 17-year-old for sex.

35-year-old Goh Wee Seong paid the minor S$500 for her services in late October 2010.

The prosecution noted that Goh suffers from depression and urged the court to impose a nine-week jail term.

In its mitigation, the defence said Goh did ask the girl about her age and she lied about it.

So far, 29 of 51 men implicated in the high-profile online vice ring case have been dealt with. - CNA/ac

 

[chinasuckz]

30th man jailed for having paid sex with Singaporean minor

Published on Dec 11, 2013

Arjunan Kulasegaram (above), 38, pleaded guilty in July this year to paying $450 for the sexual services of the 17-year-old girl at Pan Pacific Orchard in Claymore Road on Oct 10, 2010. He was jailed for 10 weeks on Wednesday, Dec 11, 2013. -- ST FILE PHOTO: WONG KWAI CHOW

By Elena Chong

A motorsports boss who had commercial sex with an underage escort was jailed for 10 weeks on Wednesday.

Arjunan Kulasegaram, 38, pleaded guilty in July this year to paying $450 for the sexual services of the 17-year-old girl at Pan Pacific Orchard in Claymore Road on Oct 10, 2010.

He is the 30th man to be sentenced to jail so far in the on-going series involving 51 men who were charged last year with having paid sex with the minor, a Singaporean.

The girl, who was one of the escorts working for pimp Tang Boon Thiew then, had provided oral sex for Kulasegaram.

Get the full story from The Straits Times.

 

[ShangTsung]

Updated: 01/10/2014 13:18 | By Channel NewsAsia

Pilot jailed 12 weeks for paid sex with underage girl

<iframe src="//www.youtube.com/embed/3B8L0oYdxsk?rel=0" allowfullscreen="" width="640" frameborder="0" height="360"></iframe>

SINGAPORE: A commercial pilot on Friday became the 31st man to be jailed in the online vice ring case involving a 17-year-old girl.

Joseph Ong Chee Wah, 33, was jailed 12 weeks for having paid sex with the underage escort.

Ong, who is married with one young child and another on the way, is one of 51 men who were charged in 2012 over the case involving the same girl.

The court heard that sometime in early 2011, Ong came across a website that offered escorts' sexual services, and booked the girl's services through her pimp, Tang Boon Thiew.

The website stated that the girl was an 18-year-old polytechnic student.

On January 23, 2011, Ong met the girl at Strand Hotel in Bencoolen Street, and paid her S$630 for her sexual services.

In asking for a 12-week sentence, Deputy Public Prosecutor Kavita Uthrapathy pointed out that Ong had not taken steps to verify the girl's age when he met her.

She also noted that as this was not the first time Ong had engaged in paid sex with escorts, he should have taken greater care in verifying the girl's age.

In response, Ong's defence counsel Ho Lifen said her client felt he did not have the authority to ask the girl for identification to verify her age.

Also, he thought the website looked professional and did not expect minors to be engaged.

Ms Ho added that her client was remorseful about what he had done.

Ong could have been jailed for up to seven years and fined for paid sex with the underage girl. - CNA/nd

 

[StarshipTroopers]

Online vice ring: Former teacher latest to plead guilty

Published on Jan 20, 2014

Chua Ren Cheng, a former teacher with River Valley High School, pleaded guilty on Monday to having commercial sex with a minor. -- ST PHOTO: WONG KWAI CHOW

By Khushwant Singh

A teacher with River Valley High School fancied an escort advertised by an online vice ring in 2010 and arranged to have sex with her for $650. She turned out to be only 17 years old.

Chua Ren Cheng, 33, who is now unemployed, pleaded guilty on Monday to having commercial sex with a minor. He will be sentenced on Wednesday and could be jailed for up to seven years and fined for having paid sex with a person under 18 years of age.

Chua had come across the website of pimp Tang Boon Thiew in early late 2010, which featured the minor's picture and listed her age as 18. He then arranged to have sex with her at the Strand Hotel in Bencoolen Street on Dec 22, 2010. He paid her $650 for a 90-minute session. Chua, who is a bachelor, resigned from his teaching post in February 2012. He was charged two months later.

Altogether, 51 men have been charged with having commercial sex with the underage escort and 31 have been jailed, In January 2013, Tang, 40, was jailed for four years and 10 months and fined $90,000 for 20 vice-related charges.

 

[ShangTsung]

Updated: 01/22/2014 23:46 | By Channel NewsAsia

Ex-teacher jailed for underage paid sex

SINGAPORE: An ex-teacher from River Valley High School has been jailed three months for having paid sex with an underage prostitute.

Chua Ren Cheng, 33, pleaded guilty to paying S$650 to have sex with the prostitute on December 22, 2010 -- when she was still 17.

Chua had sex with the girl at a hotel in Bencoolen Street.

Court documents showed Chua began surfing a forum -- which advertised escorts providing paid sexual services -- in 2009.

He contacted pimp Tang Boon Thiew, 40, on December 20, 2010, enquiring about the minor.

Chua then struck a deal with Tang on the same day for the sexual service to be provided on December 22. - CNA/ec

 

[StealEat]

Former NEA in-house lawyer jailed for commercial sex

Published on May 6, 2014 4:37 PM

A former National Environment Agency (NEA) in-house lawyer became the 36th man in the online vice-ring case to be jailed for commercial sex with an underage girl. -- ST GRAPHICS

By Elena Chong

A former National Environment Agency (NEA) in-house lawyer became the 36th man in the online vice-ring case to be jailed for commercial sex with an underage girl.

Chia Kok Peng, 40, unemployed, was given 11 weeks' jail on Monday for engaging in paid sex with a 17-year-old escort.

He was among 51 men charged in court for commercial sex with the same minor in 2012. He was supposed to have gone on trial on Monday, but pleaded guilty.

The court heard that the minor was one of the escorts working for Tang Boon Thiew, 40, who started operating the online vice ring in 2010 on the viemodels.com website.

Get the full story from The Straits Times.

 

[Untouchables]

Man jailed 10 weeks for commercial sex with underage escort

Posted on 12 May 2014

A man who was among 51 customers taken to court two years ago for commercial sex with an underage escort was jailed for 10 weeks on Monday.

Malaysian Teoh Nai Jin, 38, is the 37th man to be jailed in the high profile online vice ring case, reports The Straits Times.

The Singapore Permanent Resident was a manager at the time of the offence. He admitted to paying $500 for the sexual services of the minor at Hotel 81 Bencoolen in Bencoolen Street on Oct 22.

A district court heard that the escort, then 17, was working for pimp Tang Boon Thiew, 40, who ran the online vice ring via a website in 2010.

He procured women to provide escort services to men, who would contact Tang via the contact information on the website.

Teoh was browsing the Internet when he came across Tang's website in 2010. After viewing the minor's details, he sent a text message to Tang on Oct 21 that year to book her services.

Tang replied that she was available the next day. He told him it would cost $500 an hour and the location would be Hotel 81 Bencoolen. Teoh booked a room at the hotel.

The teen escort met Teoh who paid her $500 for her sexual services.

His lawyer Diana Ngiam said he had tried to verify the minor's age by asking her how old she was. But he stopped short of checking the identity card of the minor, who was described as an 18-year-old on the website.

Teoh, who is married with two girls, could have been jailed for up to seven years and fined for commercial sex with a person under 18 years of age.

 

[Untouchables]

Online vice ring: former project engineer jailed 15 weeks

Published on May 26, 2014 2:19 PM
By Ian Poh

SINGAPORE - A 31-year-old unemployed man was sentenced to 15 weeks' jail on Monday, for having sex with an underage prostitute.

Leu Xing-Long is the 39th man to be dealt with in connection with this online vice ring, out of the 51 men taken to court in 2012.

The former project engineer paid the then 17-year-old $450 for sex at Hotel 81 Bencoolen on 30 Sep, 2010.

Now 21, the girl was an escort listed on a website operated by her pimp.

Get the full story from The Straits Times.

 

[Untouchables]

Online vice ring case: Ex-manager jailed

The Straits Times
Thursday, May 29, 2014

Former projects manager Leu Xing-Long exchanged hundreds of text messages with a pimp negotiating over which prostitute to engage - and for how much.

Leu, then 28, also quizzed the pimp via text on how to set up his own vice business.

Yesterday, it all ended badly for the 31-year-old, who was jailed for 15 weeks for paying an underage prostitute for sex.

A district court had rejected his claim that he had been conscientious about ensuring the girl was over 18. She was actually 17.

Leu paid her $450 for services rendered at Hotel 81 Bencoolen on Sept 30, 2010.

The girl, now 21, was an escort listed on a website operated by the pimp, Tang Boon Thiew.

Leu is the 39th man to be dealt with over this online vice ring, out of the 51 men taken to court in 2012.

He fought one charge but, convicting him on May 5 after a six-day trial, District Judge Lim Keng Yeow said the text messages did not back up Leu's claims.

The judge said none of the texts showed any concern on the man's part over accidentally engaging a minor, or that he was consumed with abiding by the law as he claimed.

"The messages showed instead that his concern was mainly over which girl was available, at what price, and over details such as where and when to obtain the sexual service," the judge said.

He accepted the minor's evidence that she had not shown any part of an identity card to any of her clients.

Defence lawyers said in mitigation that Leu had not previously offended, adding that he was "sincerely remorseful and unconditionally apologetic" to the girl after learning her true age.

He is the seventh person to be convicted and sentenced after claiming trial.

Five others before him have received jail terms of between four and five months, and a sixth, an 18-month probation term.

The maximum penalty for the offence is seven years in jail and a fine.

 

[ShangTsung]

Online vice ring case: Another man jailed

Ian Poh The Straits Times Friday, Aug 01, 2014

The girl operated under the moniker "Chantelle" in an online vice ring run by 41-year-old pimp Tang Boon Thiew (above), who was jailed for four years and 10 months, and fined $90,000 for vice-related offences.

A businessman was yesterday jailed for 12 weeks for having paid sex with an underage prostitute.

Yap Eng Kian was one of 51 men charged with having sex with the same 17-year-old in a high- profile vice ring case, which has been going on since 2012.

He pleaded guilty to paying $650 for the girl's services on Dec 22, 2010.

The offence took place at Strand Hotel in Bencoolen Street between 6.48pm and 8.42pm that evening.

The girl operated under the moniker "Chantelle" in an online vice ring run by 41-year-old pimp Tang Boon Thiew, who was jailed for four years and 10 months, and fined $90,000 for vice-related offences.

She was described on Tang's website as an 18-year-old polytechnic student. She was actually 17 at the time.

Investigations revealed that Yap came across the website in November 2010 when he was surfing the Internet.

He contacted Tang by text message and booked the services of the girl for 1 1/2 hours.

Most of the other 39 offenders who have already been dealt with, including a lawyer, pilot, teacher and company director, were jailed for between nine and 12 weeks. The only one to escape a jail term so far is Kelvin Peck Yong Li.

The 23-year-old, who worked at his father's electrical appliances shop as a sales promoter, received 18 months' probation and was ordered to perform 120 hours of community service on April 28 this year.

The maximum penalty for commercial sex with a person under 18 years of age is seven years in jail and a fine.