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Man admits recruiting 13-year-old girl to provide another man sexual services in exchange for footage of the act

SINGAPORE — He arranged for a 13-year-old girl to engage in a sex act with another man in exchange for video footage of it, but the other man then demanded cash for the clips.

Jonathan Ching Wang De (pictured) pleaded guilty to recruiting a child for sexual exploitation under the Protection from Human Trafficking Act.

Jonathan Ching Wang De (pictured) pleaded guilty to recruiting a child for sexual exploitation under the Protection from Human Trafficking Act.

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  • Jonathan Ching Wang De told Mohammed Ayub PN Shahul Hameed that he could provide him girls for sexual services
  • Ching asked for video clips in return but Ayub later demanded S$750 in exchange for them
  • Ching then posed as various people and recruited a second girl, aged 13, for Ayub
  • He later cheated another man of cash to pay Ayub
  • Ching will return to court on June 18 for sentencing

 

SINGAPORE — He arranged for a 13-year-old girl to engage in a sex act with another man in exchange for video footage of it, but the other man then demanded cash for the clips.

Jonathan Ching Wang De then posed as a woman online and cheated another man into giving his accomplice the cash.

Ching, 25, pleaded guilty on Tuesday (May 25) to recruiting a child for sexual exploitation under the Protection from Human Trafficking Act, cheating, and transmitting an obscene image.

Five other similar charges, including procuring another 19-year-old girl for prostitution, will be taken into consideration for sentencing on June 18.

He remains out on bail in the meantime.

His co-accused, Mohammed Ayub PN Shahul Hameed, 30, was jailed for two years in August 2019 after pleading guilty to sexual assault by penetration.

Their victim, who cannot be named due to a court order to protect her identity, is the youngest victim involved in a prosecution to date under the Protection from Human Trafficking Act.

The court heard that Ching contacted Ayub through classified ads site Locanto after seeing Ayub’s request for sexual services.

Ching told him that he could arrange for girls to provide him with the services and that he did not want money for this. Instead, he wanted Ayub to film the sex act and send him the video clips.

Ching then recruited a girl for this arrangement. However, Ayub did not send him the video and demanded S$750 for the footage.

In response, Ching offered Ayub a second girl on the condition that Ayub filmed her and sent him the clip. This led to Ching recruiting the 13-year-old victim to meet Ayub.

POSED AS VARIOUS PEOPLE

Ching posed as a woman on Instagram on February 4, 2018, asking if the girl was keen to model for him. She declined.

He then sent her another message in March, asking for her age and if she wanted to model for cash. When she told him she was 14, he responded with “wow” and “young” and said that he was willing to pay her more for nude photographs.

She turned him down again but he adopted another persona, eventually persuading her to send him her nude photos and a video. She then agreed to perform sexual acts as she needed money at the time.

Ching created a group chat comprising himself, Ayub and the girl, arranging for sexual services between her and Ayub.

She was initially not keen on meeting Ayub but later agreed. She separately told Ayub, who had promised to pay her S$1,500, that she was 18 years old. He ultimately did not pay her.

They met in June 2018 and Ayub sent Ching a one-minute video clip of the victim performing a sex act on him. Ching asked for the full video but Ayub demanded cash or a second meeting with the victim.

Ching then lied to her that Ayub had threatened to send the videos to her Instagram followers and post it on pornography websites unless she met Ayub again or paid him S$300.

Ching told her that he wanted her to “have a good future”, encouraging her to borrow S$300 from her boyfriend. He also promised her an iPhone if she paid Ayub, on the condition that she gave him what he wanted.

When Ching’s efforts at manipulating her failed, he posed as a girl named Crystal on Tumblr to lure other unsuspecting men into his scheme.

A 23-year-old man came across the fake profile and transferred S$150 to a bank account provided by Ching for sexual services.

Ching demanded another S$300 for extra services and sent him some obscene images. The man transferred the cash to Ayub.

Ayub blocked Ching from all forms of contact and did not send him any more videos.

The teenage girl eventually stopped responding to Ching’s messages, so he tried reaching out to her through one of her Instagram followers, a 16-year-old girl.

He sent the 16-year-old a screenshot from Ayub’s video and asked if she wanted a similar video of herself, but she declined. She contacted the victim to find out more and then reported the matter to the police.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Jason Chua sought a jail term of at least four years, three months and two weeks, as well as a S$1,000 fine.

“We urge the court to impose an appropriately stiff sentence to deter offenders who seek out such victims and prey on their inexperience and youth, especially given the ready access to victims and the anonymity afforded to such offenders by the Internet,” the prosecutor added.

For his offence, Ching could be jailed for up to 10 years and fined up to S$100,000.

For cheating, he could be jailed for up to 10 years and fined. He could also be jailed for up to three months or fined, or both, for transmitting an obscene image.

Related topics

Protection from Human Trafficking Act crime court sexual services human trafficking underage

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