http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking+News/Singapore/Story/STIStory_431973.html
A BUSINESSMAN, who counselled a teenager against prostituting himself to older men, ended up sexually abusing the 15-year-old.
Ng Geng Whye, 51, was sentenced to 41/2 months' jail on Friday after pleading guilty to committing an obscene act with a young person under the Children and Young Persons Act.
The court heard that the teen, now 17, who cannot be identified, began chatting online with strangers when he was in Primary 3. He soon became a regular in a chatroom popular with homosexual men. In December 2006, the teen wanted money for clothes and a new cellphone, so he posted messages on the website saying he was 'seeking paid fun'.
Ng was among the men who responded to the posting. The boy offered to perform sexual acts on Ng for $150, but the older man, who is married with a 14-year-old son, advised the teen not to prostitute himself. The teen got angry and stopped chatting with Ng.
In February 2007, he ran away from home. By coincidence, he met Ng online again and they had supper together. Despite their age difference, they started meeting frequently.
Ng persuaded the boy to return home and also hired him to work at his restaurant - Home of the Deep Fried Nyonya Chang - in Kampong Bahru Road. It was there that the offence was committed some time in March 2007 after closing hours.
Sexual acts with people under 16, even with their consent, is prohibited by law. A couple of days after the incident, the boy stopped work and Ng lost contact with him. The teen's mother called the police in May 2007, after receiving an anonymous call about her son's Internet activities.
The boy was questioned and six men, including Ng, were charged with committing obscene acts on a minor.
The first to be charged was Quek Hock Sing, 42, who pleaded guilty in January and was jailed for four months. Victor Ng Yong You, 25, and Thomas Song Choong Chen, 37, were jailed for three months each last month, while Muhammad Hafashah Mohd Aslam, 21, was placed on 15 months' probation. The case against the last man, Balasundram Suppiah, 40, has not been heard.
Ng's lawyer Wendell Wong informed the court that his client will appeal against the sentence. Ng, who now runs an event and artiste management company, is out on $10,000 bail.
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