Pimp in online vice ring gets 58 months' jail
UPDATED 11 January 2013 (Adds an update on the sentence of Tang Boon Thiew, who had pleaded guilty earlier)
The pimp in the online vice ring case involving an underaged prostitute was sentenced Friday to serve 58 months in jail and pay a fine of $90,000, local media reported.
39-year-old Tang Boon Thiew earlier pleaded guilty to about a fifth of his charges or 20 charges, including abetting the prostitute's activities and living off her earnings, as well as starting the vice ring in 2010.
Channel NewsAsia (CNA) had reported that a further 82 charges will be taken into consideration for sentencing.
Based on court documents, Tang reportedly told the girl not to disclose to clients that she was 17 years old, which is a year younger than when a prostitute can legally be paid for services in Singapore.
According to CNA, the court heard that he obtained 82 bookings for the call girl and received about 50 per cent of her earnings. She had been paid between $450 and $850 per client.
According to The Straits Times, Tang got his clients by advertising on a website pictures of the women working for him. Customers would text him with their intention to hire them.
His clients included the 51 men who were charged, 16 of which were sentenced to between nine and 13-week jail terms. They included former Pei Chun Public School principal Lee Lip Hong and green activist Howard Shaw, who were released after six and eight weeks in jail respectively.
