7 weeks’ jail for man who paid for sexual services of teenager who claimed she was 21

The cases involving the other six men are still pending.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Lu Huiyi told the court that in early 2024, Khalis saw a message advertising sexual services in a Telegram group.

He contacted the unnamed sender of the message and agreed to pay $150 for such services.

Around Feb 14 that year, he met the girl at the void deck of a Geylang Bahru block of flats, and she told him that she was 21 years old.

He later transferred $150 via PayNow to a phone number she provided, and they entered a rented car around 12.45pm.

Khalis drove to an undisclosed secluded place, where he parked the car and tried but failed to have protected sex with her.

Court documents did not disclose how his offence came to light, but he was arrested on Sept 12, 2024.

On Oct 6, the DPP urged the court to sentence Khalis to between eight and nine weeks’ jail, stressing that he is about 20 years older than the girl.

“The accused had only asked for the victim’s age and then took her answer at face value without further verification,” she added.

Defence lawyer Kevin Liew from Gloria James-Civetta & Co had pleaded for Khalis to be given between four and six weeks’ jail, adding that his client had asked the girl for her age. He added that there was “no penetrative sexual conduct” in the case.

Khalis’ bail was set at $15,000, and he is expected to begin serving his sentence on Nov 10.