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On Friday, August 5, Singaporean YouTuber Darryl Ian Koshy, aka Dee Kosh, was sentenced to over seven months of imprisonment for s*xual offenses involving possible minors. The 33-year-old also filmed his offenses in some cases.
According to Mashable Asia, Deputy Public Prosecutor Lim Ying Min disclosed that Koshy used his fame to entice the victims. It has also been stated that he attempted to avail solicitation of s*xual acts from a teenager. As per reports from Singaporean English daily The Strait Times, the teenage boy was a minor.
After allegations against him surfaced on Instagram in August 2020, six individuals filed police reports against Koshy. A year later, in late August 2021, he was charged with the offense of recording his s*xual acts with a man.
Charges against Darryl Ian Koshy, aka Dee Kosh
As per local reports, Dee Kosh was found guilty of attempting to solicit s*xual acts from a minor teen in exchange for money. The reports further state that Koshy had offered the individual around S$400, which was later increased to S$2000. The Strait Times reports that Koshy met the boy in February 2017 near the Takashimaya department store in Orchard Road, Singapore. At the time, the individual reportedly sold flowers.
Later, Koshy reportedly used his Instagram followers’ help to find the contact details of the boy. He then proceeded to approach the individual over WhatsApp and promised him employment. Later, after finding out that the boy did not have a girlfriend, Koshy came to solicit l s*xual acts in exchange for money, but the boy declined.
It has been reported that Dee Kosh made five such s*xual solicitation offers following the case mentioned above. In August 2020, five more followed suit after one of these individuals came forward with their allegations.
Earlier this year, the YouTuber was charged with three counts of offering money to boys to solicit illegal s*xual acts from minors. Similarly, he was also accused of three counts of Films Act offenses where he filmed his activities with men. After his arrest, it was reported that Singaporean police discovered at least 25 such videos on his device. In addition to the charges mentioned above, Dee Kosh was further accused of one offense under the Children and Young Persons Act.
While some of his victims may not have been minors, local publication reports that at least four of his victims were 15 and 17. In Singapore, a person over 16 can have such a s*xual relationship, but individuals until 18 also have some legal protection from s*xual exploitation.
Possible punishments Darryl Ian Koshy could have faced compared to his actual sentence
As per Singaporean law, Koshy could have faced up to two years of imprisonment for every attempt to solicit s*xual acts from minors in exchange for money. He could have been fined as well. However, the 33-year-old Filipino was only sentenced to 32 weeks of jail time. It is unknown how much fine he had to pay, if any.
Meanwhile, Kosh could have faced up to five years of imprisonment if he was found guilty of exploiting minors for s*xual activities and would have been charged under the Children and Young Persons Act. For such an offense, he would have faced imprisonment or a fine of up to S$10,000 or both.
In addition to his offenses, the former DJ and YouTuber would have been given a penalty of imprisonment of up to two years, along with the possibility of a S$20,000 and S$40,000 fine for recording such acts in the film.
Following such accusations, Dee Kosh was fired by Power 98FM, and other organizations like Night Owl Cinematics productions, Huawei cut ties with the disgraced YouTuber.
