Vice ring pimp faces 14 more charges

The alleged pimp behind the recently-busted prostitution ring was slapped with 13 additional charges yesterday.

Chew Tiong Wei, 37, now faces 14 charges of living off the earnings of more than 10 prostitutes, an offence under the Women's Charter.

Chew turned up in court yesterday as the prosection filed the new set of charges against him.

He appeared calm as the new charges were read to him.

Court papers said at least four of the women who worked with him were 17 years old at the time of the alleged offences.

Commercial sex with a woman under the age of 18 is illegal, and those found guilty of the act can be jailed up to 10 years and fined.

The other women he worked with were aged between 18 and 34 then.

Some of the women allegedly had been working for him for several months while others, for up to three years.

The women involved are a mix of ages, nationalities and races. They cannot be named due to a gag order.

Chew is also a registered owner of a social escort agency and a trading company, according to the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority's registry.

Court papers revealed that the vice ring had been operating for more than five years, up till last month.

The social escort agency's website is also down and an "Under Maintenance" sign has been put up.

Chew, who was not represented by a lawyer, is currently remanded for further investigation. He will be back in court on Friday.

The New Paper understands that no one else has been charged in relation to this case. If found guilty of living off the earnings of prostitutes, Chew could be jailed up to five years, fined up to $10,000, or both.

rloh@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on Dec 13, 2014.
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