Singapore: Singapore's national para-athlete Adam Kamis, who represented the country at the 2010 Delhi Commonwealth Games has been jailed 38 months for recruiting women for prostitution through social networking web sites for his social escort agency and sexually exploiting a minor girl.
Adam, 37, took to Facebook to recruit women, using the moniker 'Angel Tan' to pass himself off as an escort girl working for SG Freelancers - the escort agency he started in early 2013 to get out of debt.
Adam, who, became a motivational speaker after being paralysed in an accident, had pleaded guilty to 11 charges of recruiting women for prostitution and one charge under the Prevention of Human Trafficking Act for exploiting a 16-year-old girl.
He was sent to jail on Monday on charges under the Women's Charter and one under the Prevention of Human Trafficking Act. Another 22 charges were considered during his sentencing Adam who had pleaded guilty last week, the 'Straits Times' reported.
He represented Singapore at the Delhi Commonwealth Games and the ASEAN Para Games.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Sharmila Sripathy-Shanaz said Adam would introduce himself as a handler for SG Freelancers and brief the women on what was expected of them.
While he would not receive a commission for the first client, he expected a 5 per cent to 50 per cent commission for subsequent clients. He would then create an online profile for the women who agreed to work for the agency and would advertise their services, he said.
But between early 2013 and October last year, he secured only five clients for the recruited women.
The 34 women who responded to his advertisements were attracted by the prospect of quick financial gain that prostitution provides, Sripathy-Shanaz said.
District Judge Lim Keng Yeow imposed nine-month jail sentences on each charge Adam faced of either procuring or attempting to procure a woman for prostitution.
For recruiting a 16-year-old girl student for exploitation, Adam was given 20 months' jail, which will run consecutively with two of the nine-month jail terms.
Adam, who introduced himself as a staff of the escort company, met the girl at his apartment in Yishun. He sexually exploited her by persuading her to let him "inspect" her body, assuring that all girls who attended the interview had to do the same.
Despite telling Adam she was only 16, he persisted, telling her that no one would find out. He had sex with her. For other victims, Adam would get the victims to disclose their personal details in a "sexually explicit" questionnaire.
Adam's wife, Ally Kuan, who is in her 30s, was shocked to learn of all the charges, said the couple's counsellor, Jeffrey Mak.
"Her husband did not reveal all these things to her," he said.
