<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR>Chatline or sexline?
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><TR>Telephone chatlines are being used by some as a way to solicit sex </TR><!-- Author --><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Mavis Toh
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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->Dial S for sex on a telephone chatline?
It took Jim (not his real name) only 30 minutes to convince a total stranger, an 18-year-old, into having sex with him.
<TABLE width=200 align=left valign="top"><TBODY><TR><TD class=padr8><!-- Vodcast --><!-- Background Story --><STYLE type=text/css> #related .quote {background-color:#E7F7FF; padding:8px;margin:0px 0px 5px 0px;} #related .quote .headline {font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size:10px;font-weight:bold; border-bottom:3px double #007BFF; color:#036; text-transform:uppercase; padding-bottom:5px;} #related .quote .text {font-size:11px;color:#036;padding:5px 0px;} </STYLE>Rape link
Chatlines were implicated in 20 rapes reported and nine other girls reported being molested.
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>The 19-year-old full-time national serviceman (NSF) had met the girl on a telephone chatline after he left a message: 'Looking to meet pretty ladies.'
That same day, the two met in Bugis and had sex in a nearby Bencoolen hotel.
'It's an easy, fuss-free way to meet girls. I've met two in just a month,' Jim said. He had sex with the other girl too.
Last month, in a twist to this 'easy sex' gambit, a court heard that a 16-year-old girl had tried to get a man she had met on a chatline to have sex - with a 13-year-old.
She admitted to five of the 11 charges and will be sentenced later. The offences took place in June last year.
The teenager, angered by remarks the younger girl had made about her, contacted the man on a chatline and later met him at a block of flats in Woodlands, where she briefed him on his 'role' - to rape the 13-year-old.
But he was unable to do so and the younger girl was instead forced to perform oral sex on him. The man, whose identity is unknown, left the scene after the incident.
Between 2004 and 2007, there were 75 sexual offences such as rape and outrage of modesty involving victims who knew their culprits via telephone chatlines or the Internet. Most of the victims were in their early 20s.
Between 2000 and 2004, there were 53 reported sexual offences linked to chatlines. In more than half the cases, girls between 14 and 16 had sex with men they met on a chatline.
Chatlines were implicated in 20 rapes reported and nine other girls reported being molested.
It is an offence to have sex with girls under 16 years.
Chatlines became popular here early this decade, when there were about 30 providers. There were about 10 main players which made millions of dollars from callers who befriended strangers via the telephone.
But complaints arose about chatlines being used to solicit for sex.
In 2004, the Media Development Authority (MDA) imposed new rules on chatline providers to protect the young from sex predators.
The operators had to remove sexually explicit messages, exclude users below 18, compile blacklists of users who had left abusive or offensive messages, and share them with other operators.
Mr Samuel Lim, former president of the Audiotex Service Providers Association, told The Sunday Times that the industry's image was cleaned up after the new regulations.
He said the steps the MDA took were 'necessary and the operators became more responsible because they knew the penalties'.
Mr Lim, who quit the industry in 2007, believes there are now only five operators left, running between 10 and 15 chatlines.
Most that gave up the business had been badly hit by the entry of free computer-based Internet chats. Most chatlines charge 50 cents to $1.50 a minute.
The Consumers Association of Singapore said 23 complaints were lodged against chatlines between 2005 and last year, mostly about unsatisfactory service and sales tactics.
In one case, a consumer's 16-year-old son chalked up over $500 in calls to chatlines in 2006. The consumer was unhappy that there was no monitoring to ensure that callers are above the age of 18.
Parents interviewed also said that 'provocative advertisements' touting chatlines can still be found in magazines and newspapers.
When The Sunday Times rang up three chatlines, sexually explicit messages were still heard although there were reminders stating that 'there should be no unpleasant or offensive language'.
Many of those chatting solicited for sex while others looked for 'open-minded girls'.
Some of the 24-hour chatlines, targeted at men, also hire women for chatting. Most are from China and Malaysia.
One woman from China, who wanted to be known only as Jenny, told The Sunday Times that she makes 30 cents per minute of chat. She and about 20 others operate from flats in Chinatown, Clementi and Ang Mo Kio.
'The guys mostly want us to talk dirty to them,' said Jenny in Mandarin. 'The boss says it's a chatline, but it's really more of a 'sexline'.'
Girls who want to make extra cash meet the callers in person for sex, she added.
Ms Yuvarani Thangavelu, MDA's senior assistant director (market policy), media policy, said operators are required to ensure that their services do not contain material that offends against good taste or decency, and are 'not used for the solicitation of prostitution or any other immoral activities'.
She added that the public can give feedback to the MDA on offensive messages found on the chatlines and action will be taken.
Jim, meanwhile, is still hooked on chatlines.
He said: 'The warnings are merely disclaimers. Do you really think we guys are paying so much just to chat?'
[email protected] Do you think there should be tighter regulations for phone chatlines? E-mail your views to [email protected]
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><TR>Telephone chatlines are being used by some as a way to solicit sex </TR><!-- Author --><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Mavis Toh
</TD></TR><!-- show image if available --><TR vAlign=bottom><TD width=330>
</TD><TD width=10>
<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->Dial S for sex on a telephone chatline?
It took Jim (not his real name) only 30 minutes to convince a total stranger, an 18-year-old, into having sex with him.
<TABLE width=200 align=left valign="top"><TBODY><TR><TD class=padr8><!-- Vodcast --><!-- Background Story --><STYLE type=text/css> #related .quote {background-color:#E7F7FF; padding:8px;margin:0px 0px 5px 0px;} #related .quote .headline {font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size:10px;font-weight:bold; border-bottom:3px double #007BFF; color:#036; text-transform:uppercase; padding-bottom:5px;} #related .quote .text {font-size:11px;color:#036;padding:5px 0px;} </STYLE>Rape link
Chatlines were implicated in 20 rapes reported and nine other girls reported being molested.
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>The 19-year-old full-time national serviceman (NSF) had met the girl on a telephone chatline after he left a message: 'Looking to meet pretty ladies.'
That same day, the two met in Bugis and had sex in a nearby Bencoolen hotel.
'It's an easy, fuss-free way to meet girls. I've met two in just a month,' Jim said. He had sex with the other girl too.
Last month, in a twist to this 'easy sex' gambit, a court heard that a 16-year-old girl had tried to get a man she had met on a chatline to have sex - with a 13-year-old.
She admitted to five of the 11 charges and will be sentenced later. The offences took place in June last year.
The teenager, angered by remarks the younger girl had made about her, contacted the man on a chatline and later met him at a block of flats in Woodlands, where she briefed him on his 'role' - to rape the 13-year-old.
But he was unable to do so and the younger girl was instead forced to perform oral sex on him. The man, whose identity is unknown, left the scene after the incident.
Between 2004 and 2007, there were 75 sexual offences such as rape and outrage of modesty involving victims who knew their culprits via telephone chatlines or the Internet. Most of the victims were in their early 20s.
Between 2000 and 2004, there were 53 reported sexual offences linked to chatlines. In more than half the cases, girls between 14 and 16 had sex with men they met on a chatline.
Chatlines were implicated in 20 rapes reported and nine other girls reported being molested.
It is an offence to have sex with girls under 16 years.
Chatlines became popular here early this decade, when there were about 30 providers. There were about 10 main players which made millions of dollars from callers who befriended strangers via the telephone.
But complaints arose about chatlines being used to solicit for sex.
In 2004, the Media Development Authority (MDA) imposed new rules on chatline providers to protect the young from sex predators.
The operators had to remove sexually explicit messages, exclude users below 18, compile blacklists of users who had left abusive or offensive messages, and share them with other operators.
Mr Samuel Lim, former president of the Audiotex Service Providers Association, told The Sunday Times that the industry's image was cleaned up after the new regulations.
He said the steps the MDA took were 'necessary and the operators became more responsible because they knew the penalties'.
Mr Lim, who quit the industry in 2007, believes there are now only five operators left, running between 10 and 15 chatlines.
Most that gave up the business had been badly hit by the entry of free computer-based Internet chats. Most chatlines charge 50 cents to $1.50 a minute.
The Consumers Association of Singapore said 23 complaints were lodged against chatlines between 2005 and last year, mostly about unsatisfactory service and sales tactics.
In one case, a consumer's 16-year-old son chalked up over $500 in calls to chatlines in 2006. The consumer was unhappy that there was no monitoring to ensure that callers are above the age of 18.
Parents interviewed also said that 'provocative advertisements' touting chatlines can still be found in magazines and newspapers.
When The Sunday Times rang up three chatlines, sexually explicit messages were still heard although there were reminders stating that 'there should be no unpleasant or offensive language'.
Many of those chatting solicited for sex while others looked for 'open-minded girls'.
Some of the 24-hour chatlines, targeted at men, also hire women for chatting. Most are from China and Malaysia.
One woman from China, who wanted to be known only as Jenny, told The Sunday Times that she makes 30 cents per minute of chat. She and about 20 others operate from flats in Chinatown, Clementi and Ang Mo Kio.
'The guys mostly want us to talk dirty to them,' said Jenny in Mandarin. 'The boss says it's a chatline, but it's really more of a 'sexline'.'
Girls who want to make extra cash meet the callers in person for sex, she added.
Ms Yuvarani Thangavelu, MDA's senior assistant director (market policy), media policy, said operators are required to ensure that their services do not contain material that offends against good taste or decency, and are 'not used for the solicitation of prostitution or any other immoral activities'.
She added that the public can give feedback to the MDA on offensive messages found on the chatlines and action will be taken.
Jim, meanwhile, is still hooked on chatlines.
He said: 'The warnings are merely disclaimers. Do you really think we guys are paying so much just to chat?'
[email protected] Do you think there should be tighter regulations for phone chatlines? E-mail your views to [email protected]
