‘Monster’ forced wife to be prostitute, sexually abused young daughter

A jobless man who forced his wife to prostitute herself to pay for their baby son's diapers and milk powder was sentenced to 25½ years in jail and 24 strokes of the cane yesterday.

The 27-year-old also admitted to forcing his six-year-old daughter to perform oral sex on him, as well as undressing, kissing and fondling his wife's 13-year-old niece the day she was supposed to take a PSLE exam.

"You are a monster," High Court Judge Chan Seng Onn said in sentencing the man.

Citing the prosecution's submissions, the judge said: "The sordid sexual depravity of his transgressions is unprecedented and involves him sexually exploiting the three most vulnerable women in his life - whom he had every responsibility to protect."

The case was described by prosecutors as the "first case of its kind" and the most aggravated case of human trafficking in Singapore.

Seeking at least 22 years in jail and 24 strokes of the cane, Deputy Public Prosecutor Eunice Lau said the man regularly inflicted violence on his wife, 28, and emotionally harangued her to ensure she fulfilled a daily quota of customers.

Over a three-month period of June to August 2016, she provided sexual services to 138 men - at three to five customers a day. She gave all her earnings of almost $11,000 to her husband.

Justice Chan imposed a $12,000 fine to disgorge the profits made by the accused. If he cannot pay, he must spend two more months in jail.

The offences came to light after his mother reported him to the police in August 2016 for sexually assaulting his daughter.

The court heard the man, who cannot be named to protect the identities of the victims, had a long history of physically abusing his wife, even before they got married in 2012.

He began beating her in 2009, a year after their relationship started. The violence increased in severity and frequency and persisted while she was pregnant.

From June 2015, he assaulted her at least once a week.

The woman did not dare to use her mobile phone or contact her family members. She also did not report him to the police as he had threatened to kill her if she disclosed the abuse.

Between 2010 and 2015, the family relied on her salary as a receptionist and office assistant. She would hand over her $1,800 salary to her husband, who gave her a transport allowance.

When she stopped working, they faced financial problems.

In June 2016, he rejected her request that he get a job.

Instead, he demanded that she prostitute herself and badgered her until she eventually succumbed.

As he frequently used online platforms to engage prostitutes, he taught her how to solicit customers on such a website.

He taught her to use online monikers like "Single Mum" to advertise her services and to respond to interested customers with details such as her bust size.

He told her to charge $80 to $100 for an hour of sexual service and $120 for two hours.

If she failed to meet her daily quota, she had to make up for it the next day.

He also made her secretly record her acts with customers as he had a fetish for seeing her having sex with other men.

On one occasion, he insisted she provide sexual services to a customer who turned out to be her classmate.

When she failed to persuade her classmate to take part in a threesome, her husband punched her and hit her with a dumbbell.

Desperate to appease him, she tried to look for more customers online.

Yesterday, the man pleaded guilty to one charge each of procuring a woman for the purpose of prostitution and of receiving payment in connection with exploitation of a trafficked victim.

He also pleaded guilty to a charge of sexual assault by penetration of a minor and a charge of aggravated outrage of modesty. Four other charges were considered during sentencing.