Singapore
By Lydia Lam 12 Apr 2021 03:36PM (Updated: 12 Apr 2021 03:40PM )
SINGAPORE: Despite knowing that she was only 13, a man entered into a "friends with benefits" arrangement with a secondary school student and engaged in criminal sex acts with her for more than a year.
Nick Chong Seng Cheong, 24, was given two years and 10 months' jai l on Monday (Apr 12), after the victim lodged a police report in March 2019.
He pleaded guilty to three counts of sexual penetration of a minor and one count of possessing obscene films. Another seven charges were considered in sentencing.
The court heard that Chong was 21 to 22 at the time of the offences and was a project lead at an engineering company.
He met the victim on a chat application and their conversations were of a sexual nature, said Deputy Public Prosecutor Emily Koh.
Chong would ask the victim for obscene photos and she would comply, and he would also send her such photos or videos of himself.
Chong asked the victim to be "friends with benefits", referring to an arrangement where two people engage in sexual activities, and the girl agreed - on the condition that she be paid.
At this time, Chong already knew the girl was 13. That same month, they met up to engage in sexual activities in a toilet for the disabled at a shopping mall in Tampines.
After this, they met up almost every month for sexual acts, between October 2017 and February 2019. Each time, Chong paid the victim between S$30 and S$50.
To bypass hotels that required the victim to show her identity card revealing her age, Chong would reach the hotel first and pick her up from the lobby, making her pretend to be his sister.
He would film some of their activities, and sent a photo of the victim without her face to an unknown person as he wanted to have a "threesome" that did not eventually happen.
Over the course of their arrangement, Chong asked the victim to delete their messages, claiming that there was a need for "precaution" as he had not previously paid for sex with an underage girl.
On Mar 12, 2019, the victim lodged a police report, saying that she had sexual intercourse with several men. Chong was charged following police investigations.
The prosecutor Ms Koh asked for at least three years' jail, saying that the penal code makes it plain that sexual penetration of a minor is an offence "regardless of the victim's consent".
She said the degree of sexual exploitation is high in this case as Chong had committed the multiple offences in an "exploitative, calculated and persistent" manner.
Chong exploited the victim's young age and inexperience, teaching her what to do and persuading her that it was "fun" before their first occasion of sexual intercourse, said Ms Koh.
He deliberately booked certain hotels that would not require the victim to show her identity card, and asked the victim to bring a change of clothes and act like his sister, she added.
Defence lawyers Josephus Tan, Marshall Lim and Cory Wong from Invictus Law asked instead for not more than 30 months' jail, noting that their client was 21 to 22 while the victim was 13 to 14 at the time of the offences.
"There is an age gap of seven-and-a-half years between Nick and the victim, which is not objectively large," said Mr Tan. "Generally speaking, the smaller the age gap, the less aggravated the offending is perceived to be."
He said Chong was "relatively young", and that the victim was his only sexual partner.
"Nick did not sleep around, be it with friends or strangers, and so he was unlikely to have contracted any sexually transmitted diseases outside of his sexual intercourses with only the victim," he said.
Chong has also cooperated with the police and chosen to plead guilty, he said.
For each charge of sexual penetration of a minor, he could have been jailed for up to 20 years and fined or caned.
Source: CNA/ll(ac)
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Man who initiated 'friends with benefits' arrangement with 13-year-old girl gets jail
File photo of the State Courts in Singapore. (Photo: Calvin Oh)By Lydia Lam 12 Apr 2021 03:36PM (Updated: 12 Apr 2021 03:40PM )
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SINGAPORE: Despite knowing that she was only 13, a man entered into a "friends with benefits" arrangement with a secondary school student and engaged in criminal sex acts with her for more than a year.
Nick Chong Seng Cheong, 24, was given two years and 10 months' jai l on Monday (Apr 12), after the victim lodged a police report in March 2019.
He pleaded guilty to three counts of sexual penetration of a minor and one count of possessing obscene films. Another seven charges were considered in sentencing.
The court heard that Chong was 21 to 22 at the time of the offences and was a project lead at an engineering company.
He met the victim on a chat application and their conversations were of a sexual nature, said Deputy Public Prosecutor Emily Koh.
Chong would ask the victim for obscene photos and she would comply, and he would also send her such photos or videos of himself.
Chong asked the victim to be "friends with benefits", referring to an arrangement where two people engage in sexual activities, and the girl agreed - on the condition that she be paid.
At this time, Chong already knew the girl was 13. That same month, they met up to engage in sexual activities in a toilet for the disabled at a shopping mall in Tampines.
After this, they met up almost every month for sexual acts, between October 2017 and February 2019. Each time, Chong paid the victim between S$30 and S$50.
To bypass hotels that required the victim to show her identity card revealing her age, Chong would reach the hotel first and pick her up from the lobby, making her pretend to be his sister.
He would film some of their activities, and sent a photo of the victim without her face to an unknown person as he wanted to have a "threesome" that did not eventually happen.
Over the course of their arrangement, Chong asked the victim to delete their messages, claiming that there was a need for "precaution" as he had not previously paid for sex with an underage girl.
On Mar 12, 2019, the victim lodged a police report, saying that she had sexual intercourse with several men. Chong was charged following police investigations.
The prosecutor Ms Koh asked for at least three years' jail, saying that the penal code makes it plain that sexual penetration of a minor is an offence "regardless of the victim's consent".
She said the degree of sexual exploitation is high in this case as Chong had committed the multiple offences in an "exploitative, calculated and persistent" manner.
Chong exploited the victim's young age and inexperience, teaching her what to do and persuading her that it was "fun" before their first occasion of sexual intercourse, said Ms Koh.
He deliberately booked certain hotels that would not require the victim to show her identity card, and asked the victim to bring a change of clothes and act like his sister, she added.
Defence lawyers Josephus Tan, Marshall Lim and Cory Wong from Invictus Law asked instead for not more than 30 months' jail, noting that their client was 21 to 22 while the victim was 13 to 14 at the time of the offences.
"There is an age gap of seven-and-a-half years between Nick and the victim, which is not objectively large," said Mr Tan. "Generally speaking, the smaller the age gap, the less aggravated the offending is perceived to be."
He said Chong was "relatively young", and that the victim was his only sexual partner.
"Nick did not sleep around, be it with friends or strangers, and so he was unlikely to have contracted any sexually transmitted diseases outside of his sexual intercourses with only the victim," he said.
Chong has also cooperated with the police and chosen to plead guilty, he said.
For each charge of sexual penetration of a minor, he could have been jailed for up to 20 years and fined or caned.
Source: CNA/ll(ac)
Continue reading...