SINGAPORE: A teenage boy worked with two girls, who pretended to offer sex for cash, and extorted a victim into handing over S$450 after the man expressed his interest to engage such services.
Separately, he also cheated a second victim of $200 after duping the latter into buying a counterfeit pair of Apple AirPods.
The boy, who is now 18, and the two girls cannot be named as they were below 18 at the time of the offences.
On Jan 10, he was ordered to undergo probation for 18 months after he pleaded guilty to multiple charges including one count each of cheating and extortion.
As part of his sentence, he has to remain indoors from 10pm to 6am every day and perform 60 hours of community service. His mother was also bonded for $5,000 to ensure his good behaviour.
In March 2023, the youth and the two girls hatched a plan to deceive customers into believing that the girls would provide sexual services for money even though the pair had no intention to do so.
Deputy Public Prosecutor David Menon said: “Instead, (the boy) would use his Telegram account to exchange messages with potential customers.
“Once a customer had been identified, (members of the trio) would meet the customer, receive payment, and then they would flee with the money.”
During one of these exchanges, a man sent the trio a picture of his private parts. The trio then lured him to an unknown block of flats in Toa Payoh in the wee hours of April 1, 2023.
The two girls met the man at the location and told him that they would circulate the picture if they did not receive cash from him.
Feeling terrified, he emptied his wallet, handed over $450 and fled. From this amount, the boy later received $50 while each girl kept $200.
In an unrelated case, the boy duped another man into believing that he was selling genuine Apple AirPods online.
On or around Sept 16, 2023, the boy handed the man a pair of fake ones and received $200 as payment.
The two girls, whose offences also involved other incidents, were dealt with in court earlier.
One of them was just 17 years old when she engaged in sexual acts with a 34-year-old man in exchange for $950 in 2023.
She then worked with the other girl to extort cash from him. When confronted, the man transferred $50,000 to a bank account belonging to the girl who had engaged in sexual activities with him.
In February 2024, she was ordered to undergo reformative training for at least six months after she pleaded guilty to one count each of cheating and extortion.
Young offenders ordered to undergo reformative training are detained in a centre to observe a strict regimen that can include foot drills and counselling.
The man who had engaged the sexual services of the then 17-year-old girl was sentenced to nine weeks’ jail two months later.
The other girl was sentenced to a two-year probation in May 2024 after she pleaded guilty to one count each of cheating and extortion. - The Straits Times/ANN
