Man who extorted from prostitute with knife sentenced to jail and caning
A man who was facing financial difficulties decided to extort from prostitutes as he believed they would not call the police when under threat.
Yap Ching Ming, a 34-year-old Malaysian, was sentenced to two years and 14 months, and given three strokes of the cane in the State Courts on Tuesday (5 March) after earlier pleading guilty to one count of putting a person in fear of harm in order to commit extortion, one count of theft and one count of drug consumption.
On 23 November last year, the former warehouse assistant saw an online advertisement for sexual services and made an appointment with a woman to meet at a flat in Jurong.
At about 9.20pm, Yap went to the flat with a fruit knife and masking tape. After entering a bedroom, both Yap and the woman stripped. Yap then pretended to take $100 from his wallet to pay the woman before brandishing the fruit knife at her. He grabbed her by the neck and held the knife to it.
Yap told the woman to be quiet before demanding for money. He tried to use masking tape on the woman’s mouth but failed to do so. Instead, he used his left hand to cover her mouth.
The woman resisted and was cut by the knife. She later managed to break free and sought help from her roommates. They all retreated into another bedroom and locked the door before the woman called the police.
While the women were in the bedroom, Yap grabbed two mobile phones belonging to the woman and fled. He later passed the mobile phones to a friend to sell them. The mobile phones have since been recovered.
Yap was arrested the next day and brought in for investigations. During a urine test, he was found to have consumed methamphetamine.
The prosecution said there was premeditation and planning in the offences and that Yap used a weapon on a vulnerable part of the woman’s body.
Yap’s lawyer, John Koh from Populus Law Corporation, said his client was facing “immense pressure” to perform at work.
“The long working hours eventually led to a tremendous amount of stress and pressure. Yap only wanted to excel in his work in view of making more money for his family back in Malaysia,” said Koh.
Yap’s actions were out of desperation and in the spur of the moment, added the lawyer.
For committing extortion by putting the person in harm, Yap could have been jailed between two and five years and caned. For theft, he could have been jailed for up to three years, or fined, or both.
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