Indian-origin student hires underage girl for sex, sentenced 10 months jail

Singapore: An Indian-origin student was sentenced to 10 months in jail in Singapore for taking the services of an underage girl and not paying her in May last year. A media report stated that Hari Kumar Anpalagan, 25, was found guilty of having sex with the girl, who had admitted she was 14-year-old and was providing services in exchange for cash. Following a three-day trial, Hari was convicted on one count of hiring a girl who was below 18 years old.  The court heard that Hari responded to the girl's post on the Tagged social network app in which she requested help to buy a new mobile phone. He offered to assist and asked what he would receive in return. The girl offered sexual services, and, after negotiating, they agreed that she would receive 70 Singapore dollars. The pair met at around 9 pm in May last year at the void deck of her apartment block. She told him then that she was 16, but this did not deter Hari from engaging her services. District Judge Kenneth Yap chided Hari said "You have not shown a shred of remorse for the girl...You added salt to the wound by not paying her,". Later, the girl told Hari that she would wait for him downstairs before running off. He left without paying her. The offences came to light when the girl's school found out about her activities. The police were notified, and officers arrested Hari after they found text messages between him and the girl when they searched her mobile phone. Hari, who was unrepresented, had earlier told the court that he did not have sex with the girl. He claimed in his defence that he met the girl out of the "goodness of his heart" to give her 70 Singapore dollars to help her buy a phone. Hari asked the court to defer his sentence to a later date, saying that he had to complete an internship. He will be back in court on January 5. According to the media report, two other men were prosecuted and a third was referred to the Serious Sexual Crime Branch of the Singapore Police Force for investigations for having sex with the girl. For engaging the services of an underage prostitute, Hari could have been jailed for up to seven years and fined.