Company director tells teen boy he's not gay, later pays $200 to perform oral sex on the minor

Shaffiq Alkhatib
The Straits Times
May 16, 2023

In exchange for sex, a director at an educational support services firm offered cash to a 17-year-old youth who was initially hesitant to accept it.

But Chen Yiyuan from Beacon International Management Group continued to pester the teenager even though the latter told him that he was not homosexual and that such sexual activities did not appeal to him.

Chen finally managed to convince the teenager to go to Chen’s home on March 12, 2022. He gave the teen $200 after performing oral sex on him.

On Tuesday, Chen, 32, who admitted that he knew the teen was born in 2005, was sentenced to six weeks’ jail after he pleaded guilty to one count involving commercial sex with a minor below 18 years old.

The Singaporean met the teen at a Chinese New Year event in 2018 and contacted him via WhatsApp. They exchanged Instagram contacts and would make occasional comments on each other’s posts on the platform. They went fishing in a park in early 2022.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Tay Jia En said: “The accused admitted that after this outing, he started feeling emotionally attracted towards the victim as he felt that the victim ‘gave off a chill vibe’ which made the accused feel peaceful and comfortable when the victim was beside him.

“The accused then suggested a second outing with the victim, which took place a few days later.”

According to Chen, he started having “good feelings” about the teen after these two meetings.

He contacted the teen via messaging platform Telegram in the wee hours of March 8, 2022.

During this conversation, Chen asked him whether he was open to experimenting sexually with him. Chen also offered cash for such an encounter. They exchanged messages from about 12.10am to around 12.45am, during which the teen said he was not homosexual.

Among other things, Chen replied that he was heterosexual and was just “curious”. He also asked the teen what his limits were.

When the teen continued to hesitate, Chen reassured him by saying: “I pleasure (you) a bit will do... I don’t want you to touch me... that is why I am sure I will not (go) overboard... but I pay (you)... like 10 (minutes) or so can already.”

The conversation ended with an understanding that the teen should let Chen know whether the latter could perform sexual acts on him.

In the following days, Chen continued to ask him for his decision.

Around 2am on March 12, 2022, the teen finally agreed to meet Chen, who drove his car to pick him up. They reached Chen’s Yishun home around 3.40am.

Chen performed oral sex on the boy and gave him $200.

The victim, who alerted the police later that day, told investigators that the incident made him feel “filthy”.

On Tuesday, defence lawyer Tanaya Kinjavdekar told the court that Chen was genuinely remorseful. She also said he has a low risk of reoffending.

For having commercial sex with a minor below 18 years old, an offender can be jailed for up to seven years and fined.