A man who pretended to be a police officer to coerce a social escort into giving him “sexual favours” was jailed for 18 years and sentenced to 24 strokes of caning on Monday (23 August).

When Ng Yi Yao’s ruse failed, he used a Swiss Army knife to threaten the then 22-year-old part-time student in the 2019 incident. He then raped and sexually assaulted her.

Ng, 33, was earlier convicted after trial of two counts of aggravated rape and two counts of aggravated sexual assault by penetration. He had one count of impersonating a public servant taken into consideration for his sentencing.

Sentencing him, Justice Mavis Chionh considered the clear “premeditation” on Ng’s part.

“The accused had booked the victim’s sexual services knowing full well that he had no money to pay for these services. And he was clearly intent on getting sex from her one way or another: first, by posing as an anti-vice police officer conducting an operation and seeking to get her to offer him sex in return for her freedom, and then when she steadfastly refused to do so, by threatening to harm her with a knife,” she said.

The victim, who was studying for a degree part time, also worked as a full-time assistant to a banker, but decided to become a part-time social escort a few months before she was sexually assaulted. She needed money for rent and school fees.

Ng was unemployed and had been homeless for two months before his offences, Yahoo reports. He had been staying in a backpackers’ hostel, and was saddled with gambling debts. By his own testimony, he had no money at the end of each month.

On 21 February 2019, Ng engaged the services of the victim even though he had no intention to pay her. He had agreed to a fee of $450, but only had about $150 in cash.

He met the victim at a room in Harbour Ville Hotel at about 8.14pm. When the victim asked him for the payment, Ng identified himself as a police officer and asked for her phone and NRIC. She complied out of fear.

They later changed rooms, as Ng claimed that the water heater was faulty. At the new room, Ng continued his sham and told the girl she faced jail of up to six months and a fine of up to $5,000. He lied that he had caught seven other girls, who offered him “something” in return for their “freedom”. As part of his ruse, he claimed that “sexual favours” could be offered to the police, triggering the victim’s suspicion.

She asked for his police identification, but Ng refused to provide it. As the man became frustrated with the exchange, he took out a Swiss Army knife to threaten the woman, and later sexually assaulted her.

After the acts, Ng even proposed to move in with the victim and help her to pay her rent. He insisted on sending her home and moving in with her on the same night. The victim agreed to the proposal, afraid that she would not be allowed to leave otherwise.

She lied to him that her brother was staying with her at that time and would only go home on the weekend, hoping that this would discourage him from moving in with her immediately. Ng then agreed to move in on the weekend instead.

Ng later took a photo of her NRIC and exchange numbers with her. He then sent her home in a taxi.

These were factors Justice Chionh took into account when calibrating her sentence for Ng. She pointed out that Ng knowing where the victim lived would have “underscored to the victim the chilling fact that her rapist knew exactly where she lived and how to find her”.