Howard Shaw pleads guilty to having paid sex with underage prostitute
Posted by temasektimes on June 27, 2012
Former Singapore Environment Council executive director and grandson of Shaw founder Run Run Shaw, Howard Shaw has pleaded guilty to having paid sex with an underage girl.
Speaking in court to address issues regarding Shaw’s charge, his lawyer, Mr Harpreet Singh, argued that Shaw had made an “honest and reasonable mistake”.
He said that there was “no pre-meditation nor intention” as the offence was committed “unwittingly”.
Mr Singh called for a non-custodial sentence as Shaw’s case “falls at, or very near, the lowest end of the culpability spectrum”.
48 men have been charged for having sex with the same underage prostitute who was 17 years old at the time of the offence.
One of them, former principal of Pei Chun Public School Lee Lip Hong, had pleaded guilty and sentenced to 9 weeks jail.
THE TEMASEK TIMES 
Adrian Pang said
>Mr Singh called for a non-custodial sentence as Shaw’s case “falls at, or very near, the lowest end of the culpability spectrum”
Rubbish. He is no different from any of the other 48.
No Can Do said
If he had committed the offence ‘unwittingly’, this case won’t hv ended up in court. Evidently, he had admitted to commtting the offence knowing the girl was underage.
Regardless of his social status and wealth, the punishment for him shd be on par with the rest charged so far.
P Koh said
It is always good to admit one’s mistake and people should just accept what he claimed to be an honest mistake given the circumstances and perhaps the looks of this girl and face the consequences. After punishment be it a fine or jail term, go on with life as there are more important things that a person can do instead of living in the past.
spotlessleopard said
Hahahaha…He should have discharged this Singh and gotten another Lawyer and then go all thew way in Court….how much more Jail time can he earn for being adamant…on the other hand some people will rather die than go to Jail.
Daft Peasant said
yeah….Your Honor, please forgirv him…..just punish him by letting him pay his annual income X 100 times for the rest of his life ok liao……
Realist said
Looking at the ex-principal example.
It’s better to plead guilty and be jail for 6 weeks (shorter due to good behavior) and get on with it.
If not, this case will be like a fish-bone stuck in the throat causing discomfort and sleepless nights.
Ron said
That the judge is postponing sentencing till end-July indicates some deliberations are going in as to how to handle all these cases.
Prostitutes should not get protection meant for ordinary teenage girls who are not in the flesh trade. Unless there is evidence that the men deliberately indulge in sex despite knowing her age, then there is no case to impose a custodial sentence. We are telling the world… come to Spore and prostitute no matter how young you are. Do not worry, the men will pay and pay again by going to jail. Also your pimp can lie in the advertisements.
What kind of country are we allowing Singapore to degenerate into? Prostitutes can have more protection than those who are contributing to the economic wealth of Singapore.
CPO said
Give this poor guys a break, Pleaseeee. Their small head got the better of their big head. It happens to the best of us.Give their small heads a knock and let us move on.
Save your resources for the bigger evils, like the $23Million Rocky Harvest rock concert or the Cecilia Sue (don’t blame me, I am innocent ) show or the “best” singer in the Sun show. They need more attention, seems to be.
IronMan said
Those having paid sex with underage prostitute is punished by law. So the underaged prostitute get punished at all? Does she have the licence to prostitute herself? Accepting money for sex, knowingly being underaged is wrong. Pls update for anything that I have missed. Thank u.
dog of the dogs said
This Shaw should be jailed more than that of the principle, because he first wanted to claim trial and delayed till now to admit his crime.
GeeGes said
Howard, u done nothing wrong! Why plead guilty? Do u know the money u paid could have got u a russian model for 1 hour? With this money, in bangkok could have got u a virgin! Sad! Next time, better run-run shaw!
Mike Zeng said
Yes indeed…..Howard, you should have done some window shopping first before deciding. But I suppose you were too tempted by her youth and beauty and the easy access to her.
It’s also a factoid that only teenage females who have not given birth can control their v muscles well enough to grip their lovers’ erect members hard and even rythmitically for that ultimate thrill….buay tahan lah!
Godsila said
Wah, if u DIY also can control the grip leh. Save $ also.
Sage said
The prostitute was advertised as above 18 like all the other girls in the website. She was by passing the pimp after getting the clients phone numbers and the pimp started to harass her, so she went to file report, but after she revealed the age that she started to prostitute herself was 5 months before she turned 18, the police start to round up all the customers that patronize her during those months, and so you end up with 48 men that are local or based here. Nobody take into account of all those tourists that she had serviced as well.
Mike Zeng said
So who says Singapore is boring?
Nowsaday we have a eye-popping scandal every other week (or is it now every week?)….solely concerning sex and money, the 2 objects most desired by urban human beings.
Awaiting eagerly for more in the days ahead before 2013 comes along.
Singapore is now a scandal-ridden nation….corruption and illicit sex abound
everywhere you look. Definitely not a boring place to live..I simply love my country Singapore, warts and all. Also proves we are not robots but homo sapiens with innate human desires and weaknesses. Amen to that…
The Rich & Powerful Rules said
No worries as Howard Shaw will be ultimately let off with just a hefty fine instead of jail terms (reference to Woffles Wu’s case)!!
Tan Big Tan said
Frankly, none of the men have done anything wrong if they all believed that the girl was 18+ years old. I don’t see what all the fuss is about. So what if a man and a woman have consensual sex? She claimed she was 18 or even 20. How the heck would they know? This is all one big diversion from the real problem – is Temasek Holding solvent? What have they been doing with our national reserves. And WTF is that wife of the son of LKY still in charge of our nation’s crown jewels?