Jailed for impersonating policeman to get money from prostitutes
Hiring the prostitute, he wasn’t interested in having sex with her but her money.
Lying that he was a police officer who was cash-strapped, he demanded $6,000 from her.
She turned him down then later turned him in to the real cops.
It wasn’t his first time trying to cheat a hooker by posing as a cop — having already targeted two others a few days earlier.
Yesterday, Sherman Lim Chiang Khai, 28, an Uber driver, was jailed three weeks and fined $1,500 for his crimes.
On Oct 23 last year, Lim contacted Ms Liang Yan, 29, a Chinese national, in response to her online advertisements for massage services.
Court papers said she also provided sexual services to her clients.
They met at her apartment in Balestier at about 1pm that day.
Once inside, Lim claimed he was a police officer and showed Ms Liang two white and blue cards attached to a lanyard.
Ms Liang, who does not understand English, was unable to read the words on the cards and pleaded with Lim not to arrest her.
He told her he could let her off if she helped him, adding that he was facing financial problems.
He asked for $6,000, but Ms Liang said she did not have that much and continued pleading with him.
Lim then asked her to delete his contact number as well as their text messages on her phone, before leaving.
Ms Liang made a police report about an alleged officer who asked her for money and was told to alert the police should Lim contact her again.
True enough, Lim contacted Ms Liang again five days later on Oct 28 and arranged for another appointment.
At about 6.30pm, he drove to her unit accompanied by another man, Chan Ching San, 34, who stayed in the car and kept a lookout.
By then, Ms Liang had alerted the police after she recognised Lim’s phone number.
Lim and Chan were later arrested near Ms Liang’s unit.
Police also found on Lim a Xiaomi mobile phone he had fraudulently taken from another prostitute.
Lim had also tried to deceive two other women into giving him money by posing as a cop on Oct 21.
Court documents, however, do not reveal the amounts involved.
Lim had earlier admitted to one count of attempting to deceive Ms Liang and another count of failing to account how he obtained the mobile phone.
The case against his accomplice, Chan, is pending.
Yesterday, defence lawyer Derek Kang said in mitigation that Lim was remorseful and did not take any money from Ms Liang.
He said Lim approached Ms Liang a second time because he forgot he had already contacted her before.
Mr Kang added that Lim confessed to attempting to trick the other two women on his own and would not have been charged had he not volunteered the information to the police.
District Judge Salina Ishak said a jail term was warranted as posing as a police officer had grave implications on the integrity of the Force.
The judge added Lim targeted victims who were unable to read English and susceptible to deception.
Mr Kang indicated to the court his client would be appealing.
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