In a disgusting case of sexual exploitation of a teenager, Jonathan Ching Wang De, 25, admitted to recruiting a 13-year-old girl to perform sexual acts on a man - Mohammed Ayub PN Shahul Hameed, 30. promising she would be paid for it.
Ching pleaded guilty in the 2018 case under the Prevention Of Human Trafficking Act (PHTA), along with charges of cheating, and transmitting an obscene image.
He also asked Ayub to film the act and send the video to him.
How This Man Exploited This Young Girl
Jonathan Ching told Mohammed Ayub that he could provide him girls for sexual services after seeing the latter's ad on the classified ads website Locanto.
Instead of money, he asked Ayub to film the act and send him the video clips.
Ching recruited a girl for this arrangement. But Ayub did not send him the video clips as promised and demanded $750 instead for the footage. In response, Ching offered Ayub a second girl on the same condition of sending him the video clips.
Recruited The 13-year-old Victim Through Instagram
This led to Ching recruiting the 13-year-old victim to meet Ayub. The predator found the girl on the social media platform Instagram and spoke to her posing as a woman.
When Ching asked the girl to model for him, she declined. He later created a different identity and again asked her if she wanted to model for cash.
The teenage girl at the time revealed her age to be 14 years, to which he responded with “wow” and “young.” He offered to pay her more for nude photos.
However, the girl declined once again. Ching adopted the third persona and persuaded the victim to send him nude photos and video. She then agreed to perform sexual acts as she needed the money.
While the girl was initially reluctant to meet Ayub, she later agreed.
She told the court that Ayub had promised to pay her $1,500, and she told him that she’s 18 years old. However, he eventually did not pay her.
Ayub later shared a one-minute video clip with Ching of the victim performing sexual acts on him. He later demanded Ching pay cash for the full video or arrange for a second meeting with the victim.
Used Instagram To Lure Other Girls
Ching once again reached out to the teenager and lied that Ayub would send her videos to her followers on Instagram and pornography websites if she didn’t comply for a second meeting or paid him $300.
He also promised to buy her an iPhone in exchange for the meeting. However, the girl did not fall into the trap again.
The teenager stopped responding to Ching, which led him to reach out to her through one of her Instagram followers, a 16-year-old girl. He gave the same offer to the follower and shared screenshots of the victim’s video with her, asking if she wanted a similar video of herself.
The girl declined the advances and contacted the victim to find out more. She later reported the matter to the police.
Sentencing And Punishment
Deputy Public Prosecutor Jason Chua sought a jail term of at least four years, three months and two weeks, as well as a $1,000 fine for Ching. He could also be jailed for up to 10 years and fined $100,000 for cheating and transmitting an obscene image.
Five other similar charges including procuring another 19-year-old girl for prostitution will be taken into consideration.
The public prosecutor added, “We urge the court to impose an appropriately stiff sentence to deter offenders who seek out such victims and prey on their inexperience and youth, especially given the ready access to victims and the anonymity afforded to such offenders by the Internet.”
The sentencing for this case is scheduled for June 18, 2021. Ching remains out on bail in the meantime. Ayub was jailed for two years in August 2019 after pleading guilty to sexual assault by penetration.
The horrifying incident highlights the social media dangers for kids and why parents need to stay vigilant about how their children spend time on different platforms and who they communicate with.
Instagram In Singapore
Did you know about over 4.7 million people in Singapore have a social media presence? This makes over 74 percent of the country's population on different social media platforms. As of 2020, YouTube led the charts with respect to social network penetration in the community, followed by WhatsApp, Facebook and Instagram.
In 2021, Instagram's user base in Singapore had 2.2 million users and will increase to 2.9 million by 2025. The app remains more popular for girls, especially with women between the age of 25-34 years, or about 20.3 percent of the total user base.
In comparison, 1.6 percent of the user base are teenagers between the age of 13-17 years, and this number is growing fast. That's why you need to be aware of social media dangers for kids and protect your child accordingly.
Social Media Dangers For Kids: What Can Parents Do?
The incident highlights why parents have to be extremely cautious when it comes to keeping a tab on their child's social media presence.
With predators, scammers, and paedophiles posing an immediate danger, its vigilance that can keep you away from the dark corners of the interweb. Here are five ways you can monitor your child's social media presence without invading their privacy.
1. Friend/follow them on social media
Much like real life, be their friends and follow them on different social media platforms. You don't need invasive about what they post but you can keep tabs on what they are doing there and what their friends are saying about them.
You won't be able to see their private messages though.
2. Keep parental settings on
For younger children, it's necessary that to keep the parental settings turned on for them to access different social media platforms. This allows you to protect your child from content that isn't suitable for their age.
For instance, download YouTube kids designed specifically for children and will filter content accordingly.
3. Do not let your child have a social media account below 13 years
Most social media platforms including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and even TikTok require its users to at least 13 years old to sign up.
Make sure your kids follow it no matter how eager they would want to be about building their social presence. It also gives you the opportunity to speak to your child about the dangers and the kind of messages, content, and people they should avoid on social media.
Make it a point to explain the social media dangers for kids to your child, before they sign up on any platform.
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4. Download monitoring apps
If you still feel your child may be in the wrong presence online, you can monitor their phone by using apps like WebSafety.
This allows you to monitor your child's time on their phone as well as see the apps they download, while also view their social media and browsing history.
There are other similar apps too on the PlayStore, so do see which one works for you. However, we would only recommend this if you think your child may be putting himself in grave danger.
You wouldn't want to create trust issues by doing this otherwise.
5. Encourage open communication
Older kids will feel the need for their private space, especially in the virtual world. So if they have an account with you on it, and a separate account for friends, there's little you can do about it. Instead, create an open line of communication in the house where your children are comfortable telling you about what's going on in their lives.
Explain to your child that there are consequences for what they post online. At the same time, it's a fun place to meet people and learn new things.
A little vigilance can help you avoid exposing the underbelly of the virtual world.
News Source: Todayonline.com
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