SINGAPORE – A man who recruited a 13-year-old girl to perform sex acts on another man in exchange for video footage of it was on Friday (June 18) sentenced to two years and 11 months’ jail, and a fine of $1,000.. Read more at straitstimes.com.

SINGAPORE – A man who recruited a 13-year-old girl to perform sex acts on another man in exchange for video footage of it was on Friday (June 18) sentenced to two years and 11 months’ jail, and a fine of $1,000.
Jonathan Ching Wang De, 25, had pleaded guilty last month to recruiting a child for sexual exploitation under the Prevention of Human Trafficking Act (PHTA), cheating and transmitting an obscene image.
District Judge Marvin Bay noted that Ching had showed “a troubling degree of grooming and psychological manipulation”, and that the victim was the youngest to be involved in a prosecution to date under this Act.
“It is incumbent on the court to impose an appropriately severe sentence to deter offenders who seek out such victims and prey on their inexperience and youth,” the judge said.
Ching’s co-accused Mohammed Ayub P.N. Shahul Hameed, 30, was jailed for two years in August 2019 for having sex with a minor.
The court heard that Ching contacted Ayub on classified advertisement website Locanto after seeing his request for sexual services.
Ching told him that in exchange for arranging meetings with women, he wanted videos of the sex acts, instead of monetary payment.
Ching then recruited a woman for this arrangement but Ayub refused to send him the video, insisting he be paid $750 for the clip.
Ching then offered Ayub a second girl if he agreed to record her and send him the clip. This led to Ching finding the 13-year-old girl on Instagram in March 2018.
He told her that she could get fast cash by performing sexual acts and the girl, who lied and told him she was 14, agreed as she needed money at that time, said Deputy Public Prosecutor Jason Chua.
Although Ayub had promised to pay her $1,500, he did not have any intention to do so.
In June 2018, the girl went to Ayub’s house. She lied that she was 18. While having sex, he recorded her using his mobile phone, with her knowledge.
He then sent a screenshot and a one-minute clip of the encounter to Ching.
When Ching asked for the full videos of the girl as well as the first woman, Ayub demanded cash or a second meeting with the teenager.
Ching then lied to the girl that Ayub was threatening to send the videos to her Instagram followers and publish them online unless she met him again or paid him $300. The girl refused.
Ching then posed as a girl named “Crystal” on Tumblr to lure other men into his scheme.
A man contacted “Crystal” and paid $300 after Ching sent him a screenshot of the teenager performing a sex act. But the money was sent to Ayub.
Despite being paid, Ayub still did not send the videos to Ching and blocked him from all forms of contact.
In July 2018, Ching contacted one of the 13-year-old’s followers to ask her to reply to his messages.
He later sent the female follower a screenshot of Ayub’s video and asked her if she wanted a similar video of herself.
The woman declined his offer, contacted the 13-year-old girl and called the police.
For recruiting a child for the purpose of exploitation, first time offenders can be fined up to $100,000, jailed for up to 10 years. They may also be given up to six strokes of the cane under the PHTA.