Singapore DJ Dee jailed for sexual offenses involving teenage boys

[ASEAN NOW News]

Dee Kosh outside the State Courts on Aug 5, 2022. (Photo: CNA/Jeremy Long)

 

SINGAPORE: Former radio disc jockey Dee Kosh, 33, was sentenced to 32 weeks' jail on Friday (Aug 5) for sexual offences involving teenage boys.

 

The YouTuber, named Darryl Ian Koshy in court documents, solicited paid sex from a total of four teenage boys between February 2017 and August 2020. 

 

In May, he pleaded guilty to attempting to procure an indecent act from a young person and communicating with a minor to obtain sexual services, in relation to two of the teenage victims.

 

Two other charges related to the other two victims were considered for sentencing.

 

Kosh also admitted to secretly filming himself having sex with another victim, then aged between 23 and 25.

 

Two more charges of making and possessing obscene films were taken into consideration for sentencing.

All the victims' identities are protected by gag order.

 

Deputy Public Prosecutor Lim Ying Min earlier called Kosh a "seasoned criminal skilled at avoiding detection" and said his offences were highly premeditated. She sought five to eight months' jail.

 

Defence counsel Johannes Hadi asked for a shorter jail term of two-and-a-half months, arguing that his client was remorseful and highlighting his good prospects for rehabilitation as assessed by a psychiatrist.

 

Previous

 

In sentencing, District Judge Jasvender Kaur highlighted that Kosh brushed off one of the teenagers when the boy repeatedly told him he was underaged.

 

She also said that Kosh took steps to conceal his what he did.

 

This included moving conversations with the victims to Telegram and Snapchat, which offered certain privacy features.

 

She rejected an argument made by the defence that Kosh did so as he wanted to be discreet about his sexuality.

 

The judge said that Kosh was persistent and sought to overcome the resistance of one of his victims by asking him to think of the money he was offering.

 

She also said that Kosh's use of the Internet to commit his crimes was aggravating, and that his social media presence was central to tracking down one of the teenage victims.

 

Kosh had posted a photo of that victim, whom he saw during a video shoot, on social media. He said that he expected to be able to find the boy because of the number of social media followers he had, said the judge.

 

Judge Kaur also addressed the defence's argument that the court should disregard the prosecution's references to Kosh's comments in a YouTube video he made about the case.

 

The video, which Kosh posted on Jan 26, has since been taken down. 

 

The prosecution used it to argue that Kosh was not remorseful for his crimes, which is a factor in sentencing.

 

"It is appropriate to consider what the accused said in the video which he posted on Jan 26," said Judge Kaur.

 

"He publicly claimed he assumed (the victim) A1 was 18 years of age and portrayed it as an unwitting contravention of the law. This was a blatant lie."

 

The truth was that the victim had confirmed he was under 16, said the judge, adding that taking all these circumstances into consideration, she would give Kosh's plea of guilt less mitigating weight.

 

Kosh rose to fame on YouTube and was a presenter on radio station Power 98, a position he held during the offences.

 

Power 98 previously said that Kosh has been suspended since being charged in August last year.

 

Before that, he was placed on no-pay leave pending investigations.

 

For the full report go to CNA.