A Singaporean man was sentenced to jail on Monday (22 July) for offences related to his association with sex work.
The 37-year-old man, who had the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), passed the infection to his girlfriend, who then became his wife and mother of his child.
He had asked his partner to provide sexual services to other men in exchange for cash to pay their bills.
The woman continued to do so even after knowing she had contracted HIV from him and given birth.
According to Channel NewsAsia (CNA), the man had informed the woman that he was HIV-positive when the two began dating in 2014.
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At the time, the couple were living together. Although they both had jobs, they did not have enough money to pay the rent.
The man then suggested that the woman provide sexual services to earn fast cash.
She was eventually persuaded after being opposed to the idea initially.
Per CNA, the sexual solicitations happened in Geylang from 2014 to 2018.
After coaxing interested customers, the man would escort the strangers and his girlfriend to a hotel and wait outside until they were finished.
He informed his girlfriend to call him if there was any trouble and decided on rates of S$70 to S$90 based on the services provided.
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The couple then used the earnings to collectively pay for their food and rental.
CNA reported that after a few years, the woman was diagnosed with HIV, which she contracted from the man, after being admitted to hospital in September 2017.
Despite her diagnosis, the couple continued with their sex work services.
The man also told his girlfriend not to inform her customers of the diagnosis as it would affect their business.
Despite knowing there was a risk she could pass the infection, the woman agreed to keep it a secret.
In addition, she did not adhere to her antiretroviral treatment (ART) from February 2018 to May 2018.
According to CNA, the woman stopped providing sexual services to other men in 2018 when she discovered that she was pregnant with the offender’s child.
After the couple got married in July 2018 and she had given birth, the services resumed.
In 2019, the man instructed his now-wife to provide sexual services again due to their increased expenses with the newborn child.
She initially disagreed but succumbed to her husband’s persistent requests.
The man then advertised his wife on the Telegram messaging app to attract customers, arrange appointments and inform them of rates.
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The woman provided sexual services to her customers in hotels or the living room of their own home, sometimes while her child was asleep in the residence.
On some occasions, the man would take their child to the void deck during the services.
The couple also continued to hide the woman’s HIV disease from customers and provided them with condoms to use.
However, several did not use protection.
Per CNA, court documents stated that the sex work continued for several years even after the woman moved out in December 2020 due to “household problems”.
However, when the man messaged his wife about a customer on 15 March 2022, the woman refused to partake in the arrangement and informed him that she no longer wanted to be a sex worker.
She also told him that she had told her father about the situation. The man replied that she shouldn’t involve her father, instructing her to block her father and delete his number.
The woman then lodged a police report, where initial investigations revealed that the man had spoken to at least 12 interested customers on Telegram between December 2021 and March 2022.
The man pleaded guilty to four charges under the Woman’s Charter for living on the earnings of sex work, for procuring his girlfriend for sex work and for offering her sexual services on Telegram.
He was subsequently sentenced to 20 months’ jail.
It is unclear if the woman was also prosecuted for her actions.
Also read: S’pore Man Pays Sex Worker S$2 After Services, Arrested For Repeated Offences Against Women
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Featured image by MS News.
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