Man jailed 10 months for engaging services of underage prostitute
A 25-year-old student, Hari Kumar Anpalagan, was sentenced to 10 months' jail yesterday for engaging the services of a 16-year-old prostitute in May last year.
The girl started providing sexual services in exchange for cash when she was 14.
District Judge Kenneth Yap convicted Hari of one count of hiring a sex worker who was below 18 years old.
Deputy Public Prosecutor N. K. Anitha told the court four other men had been identified after the police searched the girl's mobile phone.
Two were prosecuted and a third was referred to the Serious Sexual Crime Branch of the police for investigations.
The girl, now 18, cannot be named to protect her identity.
DPP Anitha said the teenager claimed she needed cash to buy food and top-up credits for her phone.
SOCIAL NETWORK APP
Some time last year, Hari responded to her post on the Tagged social network app where the girl requested help to buy a new mobile phone.
He asked what he would receive in return. The girl offered sexual services. They agreed she would get $70.
The pair met at around 9pm in May last year at the void deck of her block of flats.
She told him she was 16 but this did not deter Hari.
They were having unprotected sex at a staircase landing when they were spotted. The pair stopped and the girl told Hari she would wait for him downstairs and ran off.
He left without paying her.
The offences came to light when the girl's school found out about her activities.
Hariclaimed he met her out of the "goodness of his heart" to help her buy a phone.
Judge Yap chided Hari and said: "You have not shown a shred of remorse for the girl... You added salt to the wound by not paying her."
Hari asked the court to defer his sentence to a later date to complete an internship.
He will be back in court on Jan 5 next year.
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