With the rise of technology and social media, it’s easy to hide behind a veil of anonymity and even pretend to be someone else.
A man in Singapore decided to make use of such IT advances to pose as a woman, tricking other men into paying for sexual services.
On Monday (17 Oct), he pleaded guilty to four counts of cheating and faces up to 12 years’ jail.
According to The Straits Times (ST), 23-year-old Lim Sin Yi started his scheme in Jun 2021. He pretended to be a woman and posted an advertisement on Twitter, listing several naked videos.
In the advertisement, he stated that he would sell all the videos and arrange a meet-up for sexual services in exchange for S$500.
Lim also posted other pictures of a female body, including naked ones, on his Twitter account.
During investigations, he admitted to “posing as a seductive female”, said Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Louis Ngia.
After paying Lim S$500, one victim messaged him repeatedly to request the promised meet-up.
However, he gave the victim various excuses and said he was unavailable to meet.
Lim even added that he had a sexually transmitted disease (STD) and needed time to recover while receiving antibiotic treatment.
About one month later, the victim contacted him on Twitter again regarding the meeting details.
He transferred Lim S$30 for a video and later realised he had been scammed when the messages of their chat were deleted.
Later that month, another victim came across the advertisement and transferred Lim S$300 as a deposit to meet for sex. The remaining S$200 was to be paid afterwards.
To further facilitate his scam, Lim gave the victim a random address in Ang Mo Kio that he had found on Google.
According to DPP Ngia, he went to the location provided and waited around 50 minutes.
As Lim stayed uncontactable, the victim eventually realised that he had been scammed. He subsequently filed a police report.
DPP Ngia sought at least three weeks’ jail and a fine, saying that this was not a one-off incident.
Lim’s approach suggested that there was an intention to commit the offences, cheating three victims in the span of two months, he added.
Those found convicted of cheating face up to three years’ jail, a fine, or both.
Lim will return to court on 9 Nov.
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Featured image by MS News.
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