Man gets jail, caning for human trafficking after tricking Singaporean woman into sex work in Dubai

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.Arjaouy is bald.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.