SINGAPORE, May 9 ― Trawling Facebook for young boys to prey on, Hiew Chung Wai would befriend them before persuading them to engage in sexual intercourse or other sexual acts in exchange for money.
The 42-year-old masseur even got these boys to participate in an orgy with other men, a district court heard.
The Malaysian was sentenced to six years and eight months’ jail and fined S$2,000 (RM6,170) yesterday (May 8) for 11 charges, including six counts of sexually penetrating teenage boys under 16, two counts of abetting an accomplice to sexually penetrate a minor and one count each of trafficking a boy for sexual exploitation and receiving payment for it.
He was also convicted of one count of possessing obscene films. Another 20 charges were taken into consideration for sentencing.
In his sentencing remarks, district judge Shaiffudin Saruwan said the sentence meted out has to deter like-minded offenders from engaging in a similar conduct, especially when social media is used to get access to victims who are minors.
The court heard that sometime in 2011, his first victim, who was 14 at that time, accepted Hiew’s Facebook friend request and starting chatting with him.
When the boy refused his obscene request, Hiew persisted, offering to pay between S$30 to S$50 for oral sex. The boy eventually relented and was paid S$20 after the sex act.
Hiew befriended a second 14-year-old boy in a similar fashion that year, where he offered the boy money if he met him for lunch and to “have fun” thereafter. He also asked the boy obscene questions on his physique.
Hiew committed a sex act on the second boy and gave him S$60 after that.
In 2013 and 2015, the second boy introduced two other boys to Hiew. Both of them contacted Hiew and discussed about the amount he was willing to pay them for sexual services.
One of them ― Hiew’s third victim ― later agreed to gather at the second boy’s home sometime from August to September 2013 with Hiew and another accomplice.
The four of them participated in an orgy at that gathering, and the third boy was given S$50 for the sex acts.
The fourth victim, who was 15 at that time, also had sexual intercourse with Hiew sometime from late October to early November 2015 and was paid S$30.
Shortly after, Hiew planned for a sex orgy at Santa Grand Hotel Lai Chun Yuen, involving the fourth victim and three men he had met through a social networking app.
At that gathering, Hiew directed the boy to perform various sex acts on his accomplices. Thereafter, he collected S$20 from one of them for the sexual services provided by the boy.
After Hiew’s arrest on December 28, 2015, the police found 36 folders in his mobile phone, some of which were titled “13 age kids, “school boy”, among others.
Some folders contained videos of unsuspecting boys relieving themselves in the toilet and of boys sitting in the MRT, library and other public areas. There were also obscene videos of grown men having sex with adolescent boys, group orgies involving men, among others.
An Institute of Mental Health report noted that while Hiew has no mental illness, he has a form of perversion called Hebephilia, which is a primary sexual interest in adolescents.
Hiew was not of unsound mind at the time of the offences, was aware of his actions and understood the wrongfulness of his actions, noted the report.
In sentencing, DJ Shaiffudin noted that the underlying objectives of the offences Hiew was charged under was to protect minors from sexual exploitation by unscrupulous adults.
While the defence noted that the victims had been willing participants to the sexual activities, the judge said these considerations were not relevant. “As an adult, the accused ought to know better,” he added.
Hiew’s offences were also more serious in that he had exposed the victims to exploitation by other adults.
“He (had) also involved them in sexual orgies with other adults. This is very egregious conduct and morally offensive to public sensibility. There is a high degree of moral corruption inflicted on the minors,” said the judge. ― TODAY
