SINGAPORE: A 15-year-old girl told a man she befriended on the WeChat messaging app her age and asked if he was afraid to have sex with a minor.

When he said it should not be an issue since it was consensual, she went to his home and they had sex using a condom she had brought with her.

On Friday (Dec 1), Filipino healthcare assistant Ray Reuven Roche Carbolido, 30, pleaded guilty to one count of sexual penetration of a minor and was jailed for 12 months.

Two other charges of sex with the victim were considered during sentencing.

The court heard that Carbolido had sent the victim a chat request on March 19, 2017, which she accepted.

While chatting, he asked her if she wanted to have sex and she agreed. She went to his home in Ang Mo Kio on the same night and they had sex.

Deputy public prosecutor Michael Quilindo said that some other sexual acts were also performed between them.

Six days later, the victim started feeling pain in her private parts. She was taken to KK Women's and Children's Hospital, and was diagnosed with herpes simplex virus or cold sores.

The hospital reported the case to the police on Apr 1.

In the course of investigation, the victim disclosed that she had sexual encounters with several men, including Carbolido, from March 19 to 24.

Carbolido was subsequently arrested by the police. He was sent for a medical examination on April 5 and there was no evidence that he had any sexually-transmitted infection.

Carbolido said he was very sorry and asked for another chance.

District Judge Shaiffudin Saruwan said for offences like this, the court has always taken a strict view to protect the young and the vulnerable.

"There is exploitation by you in this case,'' he told Carbolido, who could have been jailed for up to 10 years, fined, or both. – The Straits Times/Asian News Network