38 months’ jail for former national para-athlete who recruited women into vice

SINGAPORE — Former national para-athlete Adam Kamis was sentenced to 38 months’ jail on Monday (June 27) for recruiting 15 women into vice and sexually exploiting a 16-year-old girl.

The 37-year-old, who became popularly known as “Adam Onearmrunner” after he lost his right arm in a motorcycle accident in 2003, had been convicted of 11 charges of procuring or attempting to procure women for prostitution, and one charge under the Prevention of Human Trafficking Act for sexually exploiting a 16-year-old girl.

Clad in a striped polo T-shirt and grey long pants on Monday, Adam appeared stoic as the district judge read out his sentence. His wife, who accompanied him in court, looked calm too. 

Defence lawyer Ravinderpal Singh had pleaded for leniency on his client’s behalf, saying that his condition — his left arm is paralysed — rendered him unable to eat, shower or relieve himself in prison. 

Prosecutors, however, argued that there were wider public interests at stake, which negated a discount in sentencing.

Court documents show that Adam had approached at least 34 victims between the ages of 16 and 38, but only 15 were successfully recruited into his bogus escort agency, SG Freelancers.

Struggling to repay his debt, Adam set up the agency in early 2013 and decided to go for a “more personal” approach in his recruitment efforts. He took on the persona of a female escort and sent Facebook messages to random women.

In his message, he promised flexible work schedules, with each assignment paying up to S$1,000.

Interested parties were told that the job entailed accompanying male clients, chatting with them and providing “physical relief or release”. The women were also asked to fill in a sexually explicit questionnaire.

In interviews at his Yishun flat, Adam would ask to try the sexual services the women were willing to offer clients. Some women were also asked to return for further “verification” sessions.

Adam advertised the services of the women on various websites and managed to get five customers between 2013 and October last year. He did not profit financially, as there was no commission for each woman’s first client.