Man who ran online prostitution site gets over 12 months' jail for vice, tax evasion
Reuters file photo
SINGAPORE — A 41-year-old man who ran a prostitution website touting more than 130 women when he was arrested was today (Feb 17) sentenced to 12 months and two weeks’ jail and fined about S$20,200.
Chue Chia Yong was convicted of 16 charges, including knowingly living off the earnings of prostitution and using part of these criminal proceeds to pay his housing rent and car — he earned S$375,000 over the years. Another 20 charges were taken into consideration for sentencing.
The court heard that Chue set up his own website advertising sexual services provided by women from China in 2012 after he wound up a business selling E-books.
Between April and December 2014, at least six prostitutes would either send him photos of themselves in scantily-clad clothes or Chue would make arrangements to meet and take photographs of them. They would pay him S$400 for a month of advertising on his website.
On some occasions, he would also suggest taking photos and videos of the prostitutes having sexual intercourse with him if they “wished to have more customers engaging” their services.
He would then upload these photos or videos onto the individual prostitute’s profile page on his website. Chue saw this as a “marketing strategy” to attract potential customers to his site.
The court also heard that between September and December 2014, Chue used the illicit profits to pay for the rental of his home and to buy a car.
Chue was arrested on Dec 18, 2014, after officers from the Specialised Crime Branch conducted a raid at his home in Balmoral Crescent. At the time of arrest, he had in his possession 2,780 videos containing obscene films.
In pressing for a jail term in the region of 12 months, the prosecution said Chue had played a “crucial link” in the prostitution chain as the prostitutes only started receiving customers after he had advertised their services on his website.
He was also not under anyone’s directions to commit the offences and the offences were clearly well thought-out in this one-man operation, they added.
