She claims to be 22, but is she?
The ads came with photographs of a young woman dressed in a tank top and wearing sunglasses.
my paper | 24-08-12
She says she is a 22-year-old Singaporean and is doing it to pay her school fees.
Calista, as she calls herself, posted two online advertisements yesterday on local classifieds website Sgadsonline.com, touting her sexual services for a minimum of $80 per session.
The ads came with photographs of a young woman dressed in a tank top and wearing sunglasses.
Similar ads touting sexual services by women claiming to be Singaporean and between the ages of 22 and 23 were also found on the same website, as well as on RedAd Singapore Classified.
The same contact number was listed on all the ads, that of their agent.
When my paper called the agent yesterday, a man answered, speaking in broken English.
He said that Calista was available for a 3pm booking and would provide her services at a Towner Road flat.
He also offered the services of another young Singaporean woman, whom he referred to as Sally.
But, when asked if it was possible to verify the ages of the women before accepting their services, he became irritated.
"I've already told you that she is 22. I also don't want trouble," the agent said.
When my paper insisted on checking the woman's identity card (IC) or passport, he retorted: "When does anyone check the IC of the girl? I told you that she is over 18 already."
A total of 51 men have so far been charged with having sex with an underage prostitute since news of an online vice- ring scandal broke in February.
A former police officer and a finance manager were the latest to plead guilty in court on Wednesday. Of the men who have pleaded guilty so far, at least three said they had asked for the prostitute's age. However, they did not verify it.
Lawyers my paper spoke to said that prostitution is not illegal, but solicitation runs afoul of the law.
"If investigations conclude that it was the agent who advertised the women's services, then the agent could be accused of the offence of pimping and the offence of living off the earnings of a prostitute," said lawyer Chia Boon Teck.
In addition to soliciting, such advertisements - whether printed on paper or on the Internet - can be deemed to be a public obscenity and an offence, said lawyer Foo Cheow Ming.
Mr Foo added that the offence constitutes "salacious material, which tends to corrupt and deprave, as well as be sexually suggestive".
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