Man jailed and caned for robbing prostitute at knifepoint
Here on a social visit pass, Steeven Raj Bernard Clement hatched a plan to steal from a prostitute to repay his debts.
The Malaysian, 29, responded to an online advertisement offering sexual services, had paid sex with a 30-year-old prostitute and robbed her at knifepoint.
He took more than $2,000 in various currencies and an iPhone worth about $1,400.
For committing robbery after 7pm and before 7am, Clement was, on Thursday, jailed for three years and three months and given 12 strokes of the cane. A charge for possessing dangerous weapons and an unrelated criminal intimidation charge were taken into consideration.
On June 9, Clement responded to an ad and was told to go to Min Wah Hotel in Geylang. At about 10pm, he went to a room there, gave $100 to the victim, a Chinese national and Special Pass holder, and had sex with her.
He armed himself with a 17cm-long blade which he had concealed.He grabbed her arm as she was leaving the bathroom and made her sit on the bed. He cut the room's phone cord, turned to her and said "money, money", Deputy Public Prosecutor Sunil Nair told District Judge Teo Guan Kee.
The victim took out all the cash she had in her wallet and placed it on the bed. Clement took the cash and her iPhone.
Before leaving at about 10.45pm, he placed his finger on his lips and went "shh, shh". The victim called the police using a spare phone once he left.
Clement was arrested at 5.20am the next day at Park Hotel Farrer Park, where police found the stolen cash and phone, the knife and an improvised knuckle-duster.
Judge Teo highlighted that the robbery was planned, the weapon, and that the victim was in a vulnerable position, but noted she was not physically hurt.
Clement had asked for leniency and said an in-law had just died, his mother had cancer and his sister was pregnant.
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