Singapore teen pleads guilty to extorting man, 34, of S$50,000 with threat to tell police after he paid her for underage sex acts
Published on: Wednesday, January 17, 2024
By:
Today, Malay Mail
Posing as her friend’s sister in April 2023, the duo also cheated a 26-year-old of S$500 by offering sexual services before making an excuse to not offer the service.
SINGAPORE: When she was 17 years old, she performed several sex acts on a 34-year-old man in exchange for a total of S$950 (RM3,325). Wanting more money, she and her friend extorted S$50,000 from the man with threats of reporting him to the authorities for having sex with a minor.
The teenager spent the money on various luxury goods, drugs and other expenses and gave a portion to her boyfriend.
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Posing as her friend’s sister in April 2023, the duo also cheated a 26-year-old of S$500 by offering sexual services before making an excuse to not offer the service.
Today, the now 18-year-old pleaded guilty to one count of extortion and one count of cheating.
The accused and her friend cannot be named under the Children and Young Persons Act, which bans the publication of the identities of young offenders under age 18.
A gag order protects the identities of both victims.
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The man who was extorted is facing two charges of obtaining sexual services from a person aged under 18. No hearing date has been set yet.
Extorting S$50,000 for sex act with minor
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Sometime in February 2023, the 34-year-old man learnt via the messaging application Telegram that a girl called “Stella” could provide him with sexual services. This was the accused, who was 17 years old then.
They then met twice — on Feb 26, 2023 and March 2, 2023 — where the accused performed sex acts on the man in return for a total of S$950.
On March 6, 2023, he asked the teen if they could watch a movie together if he paid her S$400. The accused agreed.
She then told her friend, and the two of them hatched a plan to extort money from the man for receiving sexual services from a minor.
That day, the accused asked the man to meet her at the staircase landing of the multi-story car park at Block 343A Choa Chu Kang.
When the man arrived, the accused’s friend asked if he was aware that the accused was a minor. The man said he knew that she was aged 17.
The friend then threatened to lodge a police report against him, warning that he would be incarcerated.
While the man attempted to flee by pulling the friend aside, she shouted “molest”, scaring him. When he asked what the duo wanted, the accused’s friend said they wanted money.
After negotiation, the man transferred the accused S$50,000 and was allowed to leave after the teen checked her banking app to confirm that the money had been paid.
The accused sent her friend S$23,850, but later asked for it back. However, her friend returned her only S$18,000 as she had spent a portion of the sum.
The accused spent the money on luxury goods, and other items such as drugs, said Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Rimplejit Kaur. Court documents did not elaborate on the nature of the drugs.
False inducement
Sometime in March 2023, the accused and her friend planned to deceive customers into believing that they would receive sexual services from the friend after paying a sum — but had no intention of providing the services promised.
After the pair promoted the services on Telegram, a 26-year-old male reached out to the accused’s friend and transferred S$500.
The accused and her friend then met the man at the void deck of Block 166 Petir Road, but made excuses and left the location without providing the services promised.
The duo then split the S$500 equally.
Their deeds came to light when the police were investigating the 34-year-old man for having commercial sex with a minor below the age of 18 and he told them that he had been extorted.
‘Remorseful’
DPP Kaur called for a reformative training suitability report, noting that the accused is a young offender and a deterrent sentence is required.
The accused has been caught several times for consuming meth, she added.
Pleading for leniency, the accused asked for a lighter sentence, adding that she is “remorseful now”.
The judge then called for two reports to help determine if the accused is suitable for reformative training or probation.
Reformative training is a regimented rehabilitation programme for offenders under 21 who commit relatively serious crimes.
Probation does not result in a recorded criminal conviction and allows young offenders to continue with their education or employment while serving their sentences.
The accused will be back on Feb 6 for sentencing. Her friend is due in court on Feb 22 to face one charge of cheating and one charge of extortion.
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