Updated: 09/28/2012 20:30

Man jailed for nine weeks for sex with underage prostitute in online vice ring case

®Copyright MediaCorp

Wilson Oei, 26, has been sentenced to nine weeks' jail for having sex with an underage prostitute.

He is the eighth man to be convicted in a high profile online vice ring case that has implicated 51 men.

In his mitigation, Oei's lawyer Chen Chee Yen said Oei's age gap with the 17-year-old prostitute was relatively narrow when the offence was committed on 26 Sep 2010.

Senior District Judge See Kee Oon said a large age disparity could be an aggravating factor, so the age disparity is relevant to the case overall.

But he said the age gap is not so narrow in this case to warrant a discount in sentencing.

The judge said while it was an honest mistake for Oei, he had made no inquiry at all into the girl's age and did not exercise any vigilance.

But he noted that Oei is remorseful about his mistake as shown by his early pleading of guilt.

Oei paid the girl between $450 and $500 for sex at Hotel 81 Bencoolen.