Woman admits making false rape report because man refused to pay her S$1,200 after sex
The man had originally agreed to pay the 19-year-old woman S$200 for "her time".
Claris Ling Min Rui at the State Courts on Sep 1, 2025. (Photo: CNA/Jeremy Long)
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SINGAPORE: A 19-year-old woman got to know a man more than double her age on a dating application and met him for a date, where they had consensual sex after dinner and drinks.
When the woman asked the 43-year-old man to pay her S$1,200 (US$935), he refused and offered only S$500. Angered, the woman called the police and lied that she had been raped.
Claris Ling Min Rui, now 20, pleaded guilty on Monday (Sep 1) to two charges - one of giving false information to a public servant and the other of threatening to report the victim to the police for rape, which is a charge under the Protection from Harassment Act for causing alarm.
The court heard that Ling got acquainted with the victim through the dating platform Sugarbook. They began communicating on Telegram and agreed to meet for a date on Mar 18 this year.
The man agreed to pay Ling S$200 for "her time", the court heard.
After going to a bar, they headed to a hotel where they had consensual sex.
Ling then asked the man to pay her S$1,200. He refused.
Ling began scolding him, and the man said he would pay S$500, but Ling rejected this sum.
Past midnight the next day, on Mar 19, 2025, she threatened to call the police to report that the man had raped her. After reporting the man to the police, she sent him a text saying: "You're f***ed."
The man was alarmed.
A police officer went down to the hotel and Ling said she had been raped by the victim while in a state of intoxication.
Another police officer arrived at about 2am and Ling repeated her story to him.
The officers reviewed closed-circuit television footage from the hotel and told her that her version of events was not corroborated by the footage.
At about 2.10am, Ling admitted that she had lied about the rape because the man refused to pay her S$1,200.
Defence lawyer Rohit Kumar Singh said probation would be an appropriate punishment for his client, saying that this was a "very painful lesson she has learnt".
The judge called for a report to assess the woman's suitability for probation and adjourned sentencing.
For giving false information to a public servant, the woman could be jailed for up to two years, fined, or both.
For using threatening words to cause alarm, she could be jailed for up to six months, fined up to S$5,000, or both.
