Cane, jail for hurting man who tried to get free sex

Cane, jail for hurting man who tried to get free sex

SINGAPORE - A sales supervisor who beat up, whipped and burned a chef for trying to trick his escort girlfriend into giving him free sex was jailed for a year and ordered to be caned three times yesterday.

Melvin Koh Ting Ying, 30, lunged at Mr Liaw Jin Yin, then stripped him from the waist down after finding him in a hotel room with 20-year-old student and social escort Claudia Tay Hsin Ye, who was in her bra.

He then whipped him with a belt, hit him with a torch and burned his thigh with a heated silver pendant. Mr Liaw, 33, was left semi-conscious and with injuries, including a broken rib.

At an earlier hearing, Koh admitted that he and his girlfriend had kicked and punched Mr Liaw. He also admitted stealing the man's two mobile phones worth a total of $1,200 and trying to bribe the hotel's security supervisor not to reveal his identity to the authorities.

The court heard that Mr Liaw had posed as a woman to hire Ms Tay as a "sugar babe" for a man, Trevor, offering $15,000 for services for a month. After sending a screenshot purportedly showing a bank transfer of the sum - which never actually took place - Mr Liaw posed as Trevor for the session with Ms Tay at Copthorne King's Hotel on May 23 last year.

However, Ms Tay alerted her boyfriend to the scam instead. Koh and two friends drove her to the hotel on Havelock Road, where she and Koh booked a room.

Later, she texted Koh and said Mr Liaw was touching her. Koh and his friends entered the room, and Koh rained punches and kicks on Mr Liaw.

After whipping and burning him, Koh called the receptionist and alleged his girlfriend had been raped, and he had "hammered" the alleged rapist.

The hotel's security supervisor and night manager found Mr Liaw on the floor, semi-naked and groaning in pain.

District Judge Lim Tse Haw also fined Koh $2,000 for the theft, and said caning is subject to a medical review of Koh's spinal condition. Ms Tay and Mr Leonard Tan Kee Liang, 25, who allegedly committed the phone theft with Koh, have not been charged.

In sentencing Koh, who worked for a watch company, Judge Lim said: "Knowing the victim was trying to trick his girlfriend, the right thing to do is to walk away or go to the police. Instead, they set up an ambush."


This article was first published on May 28, 2014.
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