Two teens pretended to be underage, looking for sexual encounters on dating apps like Grindr and hook-up groups on Telegram in an attempt to lure pedophiles and then blackmail the unsuspecting users.
Last November, a 24-year-old victim showed up at a Bukit Batok void deck for a meet-up, when Shaaqir Noor'rifqy bin Mohammed Noorrizat and his 17-year-old accomplice confronted the man and extorted SGD $2,000 in exchange for not exposing him. The teens were arrested later that day.
Teens Planned to Extort Money from Victims
According to court documents obtained by Mothership, Shaaqir had come up with the plan to pose as underage males or females on online dating apps to lure pedophiles and extort money from them.
His co-accused, referred to only as B1 in court documents, cannot be named under the Children and Young Persons Act. Both teens then posed as underage male and female individuals looking for sex on dating apps like Grindr and Telegram hook-up groups.
One such victim, a 24-year-old man, was messaged by one of them on Grindr, claiming to be a 15-year-old male. During the conversation, they asked the victim to meet up for sex, and he agreed.
Teens Blackmailed the Victim for $2,000, Threatened to Show Recording to His Parents, Law Enforcement
On Nov. 6, 2024, at about 12:20am, the victim showed up at the void deck of 464B Bukit Batok West Ave 8 for the meet-up. There, he was confronted by Shaaqir and B1, one of whom was recording him with a phone.
They asked him why he wanted to meet an underaged male for sex and threatened to show the recording to his parents or the police. When the victim asked what they wanted from him, the teens told them they would keep it a secret in exchange for money.
The man agreed and went to withdraw S$2,000, with the teens following him. After he handed over the S$2,000, they deleted the recording in front of him. Prosecutors said that the teens had used the same method to extort money from at least three more victims.
Teens Arrested, Shaaqir Pleaded Guilty to Extortion Charges
The teens were arrested at 11pm on Nov. 6 and a sum of S$2,150 was recovered from them. Both later admitted to committing the offence in their accounts.
Shaaqir pleaded guilty in court to one charge of extortion on Jul. 4, according to The Straits Times. The prosecution said in its submissions that given Shaaqir's age, it would not object to the calling of probation and reformative training suitability reports for him.
Two other charges will be taken into consideration for his sentencing. B1's case is pending before the courts.
