Man gets jail, caning for human trafficking after tricking Singaporean woman into sex work in Dubai男子因诱骗新加坡女子在迪拜从事性交易而被判入狱并处以鞭刑
The woman thought Achraf Arjaouy was a wealthy pilot who wanted to marry her, and engaged in sex work to raise funds so she could go with him to Qatar.
The woman thought Achraf Arjaouy was a wealthy pilot who wanted to marry her, and engaged in sex work to raise funds so she could go with him to Qatar.
The State Courts of Singapore. (File photo: CNA/Jeremy Long)
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SINGAPORE: A man who deceived a Singaporean woman he met on Tinder into going overseas and later engaging in sex work in Dubai was sentenced to jail and caning on Wednesday (Oct 7).
The woman was revolted by the idea of sex work but agreed as she thought it was the only way to marry him. She stopped only after contracting a sexually transmitted disease (STD) and later returned to Singapore.
Achraf Arjaouy, 32, an Italian national, was sentenced to eight years' jail, six strokes of the cane and a fine of S$9,000 (US$7,035).
The prosecution did not seek compensation for the victim as Arjaouy has no means to pay.
He was convicted of one count of recruiting a person by means of deception for the purpose of sexual exploitation under the Prevention of Human Trafficking Act, which he contested.
The victim cannot be named due to a gag order protecting her identity.
She was aged 30 to 31 in early 2021 when she met Arjaouy on Tinder. He posed as a wealthy pilot from Qatar.
They later travelled to Dubai in April 2021, where Arjaouy told the woman during a "whirlwind courtship" that he wanted to marry her in Qatar, the prosecution said.
However, in Dubai, Arjaouy asked the woman to raise US$10,000 as proof of funds before she could enter Qatar.
To do so, he got her to provide sexual services, collecting her earnings daily.
The woman did so for several months before contracting an STD in mid-September 2021.
She then stopped engaging in sex work and returned to Singapore a few months later.
Her mother had sought Singapore police assistance in April 2021, when the woman first went to Dubai. Arjaouy was arrested in Singapore in November 2023 for an unrelated offence.
In convicting Arjaouy, District Judge Eugene Teo had rejected two points at the heart of his defence.
First, he denied trafficking the woman and said her evidence was "incredible" because a real victim would have behaved differently.
Arjaouy had also claimed that the woman's evidence was incredible "given her physical appearance", as it was simply not believable she could have successfully been a sex worker.
In rejecting this argument about physical appearance, the judge said one does not have to be particularly tall, fair or have a full head of hair to get by on one's looks.
He was represented at trial by Mr Joel Quek and Samuel Teo from WongPartnership.
However, they applied to discharge themselves from acting for him in other charges Arjaouy faces, saying they had obtained the approval from the office of the Criminal Legal Aid Scheme.
Arjaouy's pending charges are largely for cheating.
For recruiting a person by deception for sexual exploitation, he could have been jailed for up to 10 years, fined up to S$100,000 and given up to six strokes of the cane.
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这名女子以为阿什拉夫·阿尔贾维是一位富有的飞行员，想要娶她为妻，于是从事性工作以筹集资金，以便能和他一起去卡塔尔。
新加坡国家法院。（资料照片：CNA/Jeremy Long）
这段音频由人工智能工具生成。
新加坡：一名男子通过 Tinder 结识了一名新加坡女子，并诱骗她出国，之后在迪拜从事性工作。周三（10 月 7 日），该男子被判处监禁和鞭刑。
这名女子对卖淫的想法感到厌恶，但她还是答应了，因为她认为这是嫁给他的唯一途径。直到她感染了性病后才停止卖淫，之后返回了新加坡。
32岁的意大利公民阿什拉夫·阿尔贾维被判处8年监禁、6下鞭刑和9000新加坡元（7035美元）的罚款。
由于阿尔贾维无力支付赔偿金，检方没有为受害者寻求赔偿。
他因违反《防止人口贩运法》以欺骗手段招募人员进行性剥削而被定罪，但他对此提出异议。
由于法院颁布了禁言令保护受害者的身份，因此不能透露受害者的姓名。
2021年初，她30到31岁的时候，在Tinder上认识了Arjaouy。他自称是来自卡塔尔的富有飞行员。
检方称，他们后来于 2021 年 4 月前往迪拜，在那里，阿尔贾维在“旋风般的恋爱”中告诉这名女子，他想在卡塔尔与她结婚。
然而，在迪拜，阿尔贾维要求这名女子筹集 10,000 美元作为资金证明，才能进入卡塔尔。
为此，他让她提供性服务，并每天收取她的收入。
该女子这样做了几个月，之后在 2021 年 9 月中旬感染了性传播疾病。
随后她停止了性工作，几个月后返回新加坡。
2021年4月，这名女子首次前往迪拜时，她的母亲曾向新加坡警方寻求帮助。2023年11月，Arjaouy因另一起案件在新加坡被捕。
在对阿尔贾维定罪时，地方法官尤金·特奥驳回了他辩护中的两个核心要点。
首先，他否认贩卖该女子，并称她的证词“令人难以置信”，因为真正的受害者会有不同的行为。
阿尔贾维还声称，考虑到这名女子的外貌，她提供的证据令人难以置信，因为很难相信她能够成功地从事性工作。
法官驳斥了关于外貌的论点，并表示一个人不必特别高大、肤色白皙或拥有一头浓密的头发才能凭借外貌获得成功。
庭审中，他的代理律师是黄氏律师事务所的郭先生和张先生。
然而，他们申请解除对阿尔贾维所面临的其他指控的代理，称他们已获得刑事法律援助计划办公室的批准。
Arjaouy目前面临的指控主要是作弊。
他因以欺骗手段招募他人进行性剥削，最高可被判处 10 年监禁、10 万新元罚款以及 6 下鞭刑。
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