SINGAPORE — Angry that a prostitute whom he hired had failed to turn up at his apartment, Mendel See, a Singapore permanent resident, hatched a plan to take revenge on the woman who brokered the arrangement.

See, 18, enlisted the help of Benjamin Yong and Chow Chia Suan, both 23, to rob the woman. The victim cannot be named due to a gag order.

For that robbery, as well as a string of other offences, Yong was jailed for three years and six months, and given 12 strokes of the cane on Tuesday (Jan 22). Chow was jailed for four years, of which six months were given in lieu of caning, as Chow is a woman.

Yong and Chow, who were in a relationship, had six and five charges taken into consideration for their sentencing respectively. The duo had their sentences backdated to Oct 5, 2017.

See’s case is still ongoing and will be heard in the High Court at a later date.

The court heard that See contacted the woman on Oct 1, 2017 for sexual services at See's house but the woman, who was 53 at the time of the crime, instructed a Filipina to go instead. However, the Filipina did not show up, which angered See.

The next day, See contacted the woman again through Chow's phone and offered S$900 for sexual services at Yong's house. He offered the substantial amount to ensure the victim would take up the offer personally.

As part of the pre-conceived plan, See and Chow were to appear at the scene as loan sharks and demand money from the victim to pay Yong's debts.

After the victim was lured to a bedroom, See and Chow, who were armed with a chopper and rod, pretended to force their way into Yong's house and demanded that the victim pay off Yong's debt.

Despite the victim denying having any relationship with Yong, See took the woman's bag and pointed the chopper at her.

As Chow rummaged through her belongings, See grabbed the victim's neck, shoved her against a wall at knifepoint. 

See then instructed the victim to strip, and instructed Chow and Yong to leave the room. After less than half an hour, the victim was allowed to leave without her valuables.

In a separate charge, the court heard that Chow, Yong and See, together with a person named Wong Jin Sheng, had stolen money from a beauty therapist from China who was engaged by See for sexual services.

Sometime in September 2017, See had promised the victim S$1,500 to keep him company for the whole day, and he paid her S$600 initially.

After See and the victim had sex at his residence, Wong, who was hiding in the house, stole S$670 from the woman, which he gave to Yong and Chow.

The victim later discovered the money was missing.

In the same month, Chow, Yong and See were also involved in a loanshark ruse to cheat Chow's mother, Keak Poh See, of S$2,000. The cheating attempt failed when Madam Keak sensed something was amiss.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Sruthi Boppana told the court that the trio had specifically targeted foreign prostitutes, believing they would be less likely to report the matter to the police.

In mitigation, Yong's defence lawyer said that he only played passive roles in the crimes, which were allegedly led by See.