Man gets jail for sexual act with 14-year-old girl arranged by her male teen acquaintances
Terrance Teo Jian Xiang, 29, pleaded guilty to one charge of sex with a minor aged below 16.
Teo is one of three men charged with sexual offences involving the same underaged girl over a few days in early July 2024.
The other two men – Goh Shao Heng, 24, and Yong Eak Chung, 28 – are set to plead guilty in July.
The identities of the victim and her acquaintances – two 16-year-old boys named A1 and A2 in court documents – are protected by gag order.
The victim and A1 met on Instagram, and A1 and A2 were friends.
The court heard that the victim was living in a girls' home at the time.
"After attending school on Jul 4, 2024, the victim did not return to the home but went to meet A1 and told him that she needed a place to stay," said Deputy Public Prosecutor Melissa Heng.
"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 girl to A2, who then advertised sexual services in a Telegram chat group named "Watermelon".
The next day, Teo posted in the chat group that he was looking for a service. He received a response from A1 or A2 within the day, and they arranged for him to buy a sexual service for S$200 (US$155).
Following A1 or A2's instructions, Teo went to the staircase landing of a Housing and Development Board block in Punggol that evening. The victim arrived shortly after Teo.
"The victim asked (Teo) if he was sent by 'the boss', and (Teo) replied yes," said Ms Heng. After telling her what he wanted, Teo scanned a QR code and used PayNow to pay S$200 to an account in A2's name.
Teo did not ask for the victim's name or age, and did not check her NRIC or other identification, added the prosecutor.
The victim set a two-minute alarm on her phone and performed a sexual act on Teo until the timer went off. She then said she had to go, and left.
Teo messaged A1 or A2 asking why the sexual act lasted only two minutes. When asked for a review, he said the service was not provided in full. Their Telegram chat was subsequently deleted.
Teo was arrested on Aug 29, 2024. Court documents did not state how the offence was discovered and how Teo was identified.
The prosecution urged the court to impose eight months' imprisonment. Teo's defence lawyer Zheng Yirong sought not more than five months' jail.
Ms Zheng argued that Teo genuinely believed the victim was of legal age and that "her behaviour supported that belief".
He would not have gone through with the sexual act if he had known the girl was underaged, the lawyer said.
She also argued that the offence was a one-off transaction arranged by someone Teo did not know, and that he did not groom the victim or put pressure on her.
The punishment for sexual assault of a minor is a jail term of up to 10 years, a fine or both penalties.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CNA
an hour ago
- CNA
2 dead, hundreds injured as Typhoon Danas lashes southern Taiwan
Scroll up for the next video X 2 dead, hundreds injured as Typhoon Danas lashes southern Taiwan
CNA
3 hours ago
- CNA
Jail for ex-auxiliary police officer in charge of armoury who discharged revolver into countertop
SINGAPORE: When his colleague pointed out that there was a bullet missing from his revolver, an auxiliary police officer in charge of an armoury retrieved a bullet, loaded it into a revolver and discharged a round into the countertop. Muhammad Mukhlis Kamis, 39, was sentenced to two months' jail on Monday (Jul 7). He pleaded guilty to one count of a rash act endangering the personal safety of his subordinate by discharging a 0.38 calibre Taurus Revolver at a Singapore Air Freight Terminal building. The court heard that Mukhlis was an auxiliary police officer with the Singapore Airport Terminal Services (SATS) Security Services for 11 years. He held the rank of Sergeant, and was deployed as an armourer for five years in the leadup to the incident. According to his defence lawyer, he had been promoted to be overall in-charge of the armoury. The court heard that Mukhlis was at the SATS Auxiliary Police Armoury at the Singapore Air Freight Terminal Core C Building on Nov 22, 2023. At about 7.40am, another officer, Corporal Zulkarnaen Ramli went to the armoury ahead of his shift to withdraw his equipment and firearms. The 27-year-old was accompanied by a safety officer. Mukhlis was in the armoury listening to music, which was playing on a speaker via his phone. He issued nine rounds of 0.38mm ammunition with a Taurus revolver to CPL Zulkarnaen, but the corporal realised that there was one bullet missing and pointed it out. Mukhlis then retrieved one bullet from the ammo drawer, which was below the countertop. "He threw this 0.38mm round up in the air and caught it with his left hand," said the prosecutor. "He then inserted the single bullet into the cylinder of the revolver, spun the cylinder, and closed the cylinder." Mukhlis was holding the revolver in his right hand, pointing it downward towards the countertop. At his actions, CPL Zulkarnaen stepped back in fear. Suddenly, Mukhlis placed his finger on the trigger and pulled it, discharging a round that hit the armoury countertop. The entire sequence lasted about five seconds, the prosecutor said. After discharging the round, Mukhlis called his supervisors and told them what happened. A thorough search uncovered the slug of the discharged round embedded in the countertop. No one was injured and no repair costs were incurred for the damage to the countertop. The SATS control room informed the police about the incident that same morning and Mukhlis was arrested. The revolver and the ammunition were seized. After the incident, Mukhlis was let go by SATS, said his lawyer Mr Azri Imran Tan from IRB Law. He sought no more than one to two months' jail, while the prosecutor asked for three to four months. CLIENT DOESN'T KNOW WHY HE DID IT: DEFENCE Mr Tan said his client had been working without incident as an armourer for over five years. He was with SATS for more than 11 years, around the time he completed his national service, and had been commended for his work. After being promoted to the rank of sergeant, Mukhlis was appointed as overall in-charge of the armoury by his then-commanding officer, said Mr Tan. "To this day, our client cannot explain what drove him to decide to - foolishly - load the revolver," said the lawyer. "Whatever the reasons for his ill-advised actions, he recognises they are inexcusable and in no circumstances should he have loaded the revolver with a live round, let alone fiddle with the same." He said Mukhlis had immediately and voluntarily called his supervisors and disclosed what happened, cooperating with investigations. Mukhlis had even told the authorities that he was listening to music at work and that he had thrown the bullet in the air and caught it with his left hand, said the lawyer. The prosecutor said Mukhlis was "certainly conscious of the serious consequences of loading a live round into a revolver", as he was a certified armourer. "There was an element of playfulness in his actions, by throwing the round into the air and catching it with his hand," said the prosecutor.
CNA
5 hours ago
- CNA
Man sent to conduct surveillance on S$6 million vape stash gets caught red-handed by HSA
SINGAPORE: A man was enlisted by an importer of illegal electronic vaporisers to conduct surveillance on a stash worth more than S$6 million (US$4.7 million) that had been seized by the Health Sciences Authority (HSA). However, the Malaysian was spotted by HSA officers who asked him why he was there. The officers later found drugs in his vehicle. The failed scout then contacted his hirer when he was released on bail and hid in a lorry back to Malaysia, but he was later nabbed and sent back to Singapore for the charges against him. Chee Wai Yuen, 36, was sentenced on Monday (Jul 7) to jail for one year, one month and six weeks. He pleaded guilty to five charges including drug charges, obstructing justice by conducting surveillance and an immigration offence for leaving Singapore without presenting his passport. Another four charges were taken into consideration. The court heard that Chee was enlisted by Chua Wee Ming around Mar 20 last year to conduct surveillance. Chua, who is also Malaysian, had allegedly imported e-vaporisers and components into Singapore for the purpose of sale. The goods had been seized by HSA and were held in custody by the agency at a warehouse, whose location was protected by a gag order imposed by the court. At least 189,010 vapes and 351,223 components were held in custody at the warehouse, with a total street value of about S$6.5 million. The goods were meant to be evidence for future prosecution of offences by HSA. Chua asked Chee to surveil the warehouse to see if any HSA personnel were guarding a certain unit, so that Chee or other people could go in to steal the products. Chee agreed and drove to the warehouse sometime after 10pm on Mar 23 last year. He parked his car at the warehouse car park before going to the 10th floor. He then climbed up the stairs to the target floor and went to the unit to conduct surveillance. STOPPED AND ARRESTED However, he was approached by three HSA officers at the unit, who asked him why he was there. Chee lied that he had gone to the wrong location and tried to leave. He entered a lift and went to the car park, before driving out at about 12.40am. As he drove, he was stopped by HSA officers. They searched his vehicle for about 40 minutes and found drug-related items including ketamine. Chee was arrested and taken to the Central Narcotics Bureau, where his urine samples were found to contain methamphetamine and norketamine. Chee admitted to taking meth, and said the utensils found in his car were meant for consuming it. He was charged in court on Mar 28 last year and released on court bail, with his passport impounded as part of bail conditions. Chee then contacted Chua, as the latter had previously assured that he would arrange for someone to smuggle Chee out of Singapore if he got arrested. Chua told him to wait to be contacted, and Chee was instructed by an unidentified person via WhatsApp on Apr 4, 2024 to go to a location in Tuas the next morning. Chee went and looked for a yellow lorry as instructed. It was driven by co-accused Thanesh Murugan, who has been charged for his alleged involvement. Thanesh drove the lorry to Malaysia via Tuas Checkpoint with Chee hiding behind the driver's seat. After Chee failed to turn up for a court hearing in April 2024, a warrant of arrest was issued against him. He was on the run until he was arrested in October last year in Malaysia and extradited to Singapore, remaining in remand since. The prosecution sought one year, one month and eight weeks' jail to one year, two months and eight weeks' jail for Chee. He noted that the high number of vapes and components involved made this a serious case relative to other such cases. However, he said there was a "low degree of premeditation and sophistication given that the accused did not use or prepare any equipment to use in his surveillance". There was also "minimal effect on the course of justice" as Chee was arrested and the theft his surveillance was meant to serve ultimately did not occur.
