[inti-net] Singapore Minor in Major Sex Scandal

 

http://www.asiasentinel.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4437&Itemid=195

Singapore Minor in Major Sex Scandal
Written by Paul Karl Lukacs
Friday, 20 April 2012

Finding a friend in Singapore

Underage hooker exposes the grime beneath Lion City's gleam

A seamy scandal involving a sexy underage prostitute has become the talk
of Singapore. On Monday, 44 men were charged with "commercial sex with a
minor under 18," a relatively recent law which prohibits men from engaging
the services of an underage prostitute.

While the salacious allegations may seem incongruous, coming from a nation
best known for its graffiti-free streets, strict laws and squeaky clean
image, the story has exposed Singapore's wild but under-reported sexual
history. It is a history that by and large the government prefers to
ignore publicly, instead emphasizing family tourism to its vast Sentosa
complex.

However, the city-state has its raunchy side, an underworld teeming with
prostitution that the police attempt to regulate carefully. The government
licenses brothels such as those in the Geylang neighborhood. The
nightclub-packed retail section of the Orchard Towers office building is
known as "Four Floors of Whores." There are more than 60 "escort services"
listed in the Singapore telephone directory. Although Bugis Street, known
during the colonial era as a promenade for transsexual hookers, has been
redeveloped into an imitation of its previous self, the trade migrated to
Changi Village and remains there.

While the local age of consent is 16, the age for commercial sexual
transactions – prostitution is legal in Singapore -- was raised in 2007 by
two additional years. The government acknowledged at the time that there
was little need for the new law.

"Although there is no evidence to suggest that we have a problem with 16-
and 17-year-olds engaging in commercial sex in Singapore, we decided to
set the age of protection at 18 years so as to protect a higher proportion
of minors," said senior home affairs minister Ho Peng Kee on the floor of
Parliament when the bill was introduced. "Young persons, because they are
immature and vulnerable and can be exploited therefore, should be
protected from providing sexual services."

The young woman at the center of the controversy has been identified on
Singaporean web sites as a now-19-year-old polytechnic student, Steph Thia
Hwee Koon, who worked under the name Chantelle. The debate is whether she
can accurately be described as vulnerable, exploited or in any way a
victim.

The young woman's actions, as described in court documents and media
reports, have been ripe fodder for gossip. She charged between S$400 and
S$650 (US$320 to US$520) per assignation. On Oct. 10, 2010, she met with
four clients within three hours. The service's website described her as
"18 year-old. Singapore Chinese student and part time model. 1.60m tall,
48kg. Cup C. Bubbly girl. New to escort trade."

The agency's alleged ringleader, 39-year-old Tang Boon Thiew, was charged
late last year with 34 counts of living off the earnings of prostitutes
and at least one count of having sex with an underage employee, according
to media reports. He reportedly paid one of his recruits S$50 (US$40) to
test the quality of her services.

This week's charges – in addition to the 44 men on Monday, four more were
named Tuesday and additional prosecutions are expected -- against the
johns appear to have originated when Tang or the young woman traded a
diary and cell phone records to authorities in exchange for lenient
treatment. There is currently no indication that the woman has been
charged with a crime, an issue that rankles some of the defense lawyers.

"Who are they trying to protect?" asked defense counsel Subhas Anandan (in
a televised quote which was later edited out of the state-controlled
media). "As far as I'm concerned this girl doesn't need any protection.
She's a hardcore prostitute who got so many people into trouble."

Chantelle
Chantelle
While prosecutors originally refused to divulge the woman's name, the
Attorney-General's Chambers announced late Wednesday that it would
identify her in amended charging documents but would seek a gag order,
which has since been granted , prohibiting the dissemination of her name.
Two mid-level members of the ruling People's Action Party have publicly
requested that the woman not be identified, and the government press has
focused its coverage on the men while largely ignoring the girl.

Meanwhile, in addition to the fresh reports identifying Steph Thia Hwee
Koon as the young woman, internet postings from 2010 described her by name
as engaging in underage prostitution at the rates, circumstances and time
periods described by prosecutors. Photos in which her face has not been
obscured and which purport to match cached copies of the now-deactivated
escort site (www.theviemodels.com) have appeared on the Singaporean
Internet, particularly the Eat Drink Man Woman forum of the Hardware Zone
tech site. As of late Thursday night, multiple internet sites were
identifying the woman and posting the alleged photos.

The men caught up in the scandal come from a broad swath of Singaporean
society. The alleged patrons include a low-level PAP organizer, a school
principal, a member of the Shaw Brothers motion picture family – one of
Singapore's most distinguished – as well as a police officer and a former
UBS banker.

"There is no defense unless doubt can be raised about whether or not the
sex took place. The burden is on the man to satisfy that she is 18 by
asking for a passport or identity papers," said Chia Boon Teck, a local
attorney.

While the relevant Penal Code statute for the johns provides for criminal
sanctions ranging from a fine to seven years of imprisonment, Chia said
"nine months plus or minus is the benchmark we are looking at." In the
2009 case of Tan Chye Hin v. Public Prosecutor, the Singaporean High Court
affirmed a sentence of nine months, noting that "a custodial sentence
should be the norm in order to sufficiently deter such behavior and to
reflect the seriousness of such offenses." A fine and no imprisonment
would be appropriate when the woman was just under 18 and presented
convincing forged identity documents to the customer, the court noted.

(Paul Karl Lukacs is legal affairs correspondent for Asia Sentinel.)

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