Sex. Ruse. Victim. Three words that could be applied in varying contexts, and yet in this particular circumstance they’re tied together by an almost intangible string of fate:
For that’s what the perpetrators in this case wished for, with less than positive intent.
On 5 May 2017, a 42-year-old man turned up for what seemed to be a ‘sex for cash’ project.
What happened, however, was probably a little different from what he expected.
Man Who Took Part In Sex Ruse With Wife To Rob Victim Jailed & Caned
Our story begins on 4 May 2017, when Siti Khairianti Mohd Taib, 41, had first befriended the victim on social media platform Facebook.
The victim cannot be named to protect his identity.
Whilst chatting, the victim was offered a sex for cash proposition, and he accepted. The next day, he turned up at Siti’s flat in an attempt to follow through with it.
Siti, however, had other plans.
While her husband, Shahberin Soet, 45, was hiding in the kitchen toilet, Siti led the man to the bedroom and instructed him to undress.
She then texted Shahberin, who promptly grabbed the kris from the living room as instructed and intruded into the bedroom, yelling and snapping pictures of the victim who was naked on the bed.
Evidently perplexed, the victim said Siti told him she was a divorcee, but Shahberin simply waved it away and pointed the kris at him, saying that he could stab him if he wanted.
Shahberin also threatened to report the victim for rape.
Frightened, the victim gave up the $70 he had on him, and wrote an IOU for $400. He then got up to leave.
As he was doing so, however, he noticed Shahberin giving Siti a thumbs-up sign.
He then realised that he had been set up, and that it was a scam.
TMD Scam
Shahberin then followed up with subsequent calls and texts, but the victim ignored them.
The latter proceeded to file a police report on 25 May 2017.
It should be noted that at the time, Shahberin was actually on a remission order after his release from prison on 29 April.
It wasn’t the first ruse by the couple either: just the night before, they conspired to extort a 22-year-old man out of $200 with the same modus operandi.
Sentencing
According to DPP Ang, the robbery was “clearly premeditated”, and the notion that the Internet was used to entrap victims was “aggravating”.
Defence lawyer Alice Tan, however, argued that Shahberin played a subordinate role, and that there was no actual violence involved.
She also expressed that her client regrets his actions, as he will not be there for his six-year-old daughter’s formative years.
His wife could be dealt with an even longer prison term, Ms Tan adds, though the case is still pending before the courts.
On 22 Jan 2020, Shahberin pleaded guilty to robbery by night and two unrelated theft charges, and was given a prison sentence of three years and 10 months, as well as 12 strokes of the cane.
For robbery after 7pm and before 7am, Shahberin could’ve faced a prison sentence of up to 14 years. Those convicted of such an offence must be jailed for a minimum of three years.
