Man who paid girl to live-stream sexual acts for years among 21 arrested for online child exploitation
A 43-year-old man was arrested after allegedly paying an underage girl to live-stream sexual acts for several years.
Another man, 24, was arrested for engaging in sexual communication with a girl and exchanging intimate photographs with her.
He allegedly threatened to publish her photographs online if she refused to share more intimate materials of herself.
Police investigations established that the two girls were foreigners based overseas.
The two men were among 21 were arrested in Singapore for multiple offences, including producing, possessing, gaining access and distributing child sexual abuse materials as well as sexual assault involving penetration.
The suspects, aged between 23 and 61, were also investigated for possession of obscene films.
Eleven of them were referred to the Home Team Community Assistance and Referral Scheme, where social workers will conduct social triaging on them and assess whether further intervention is needed.
The arrests were part of a cross-border operation targeting online child sexual exploitation activities conducted by the Singapore Police Force in collaboration with police in Japan, South Korea, Malaysia and Thailand.
A total of 435 people were arrested in the five-week operation between Feb 24 and March 28. Another 109 persons are assisting with police investigations. The 525 men and 19 women are aged between 13 and 68.
Electronic devices, including 84 computers, 279 mobile phones, 32 tablets, 150 storage devices and 9 routers, as well as child sexual abuse materials created by AI tools, were seized.
In Singapore, anyone who has in possession, or has gained access to child abuse material, and knows or has reason to believe that the material is child abuse material, shall be guilty of an offence and shall on conviction be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to five years, and shall also be liable to a fine or caning.
Anyone who distributes, or sell, or offer for sale child abuse material or have in the possession child abuse material for the purpose of such distribution, sale or offer for sale, and know or have reason to believe that the material is child abuse material, shall be guilty of an offence under and shall on conviction be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to seven years and shall also be liable to a fine or caning.
Anyone who commits sexual assault involving penetration against another person without his/her consent, or if the other person is below 14 years of age, shall be guilty of an offence under and shall on conviction be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to 20 years, and shall also be liable to a fine or caning.
