A 32-year-old Italian man was sentenced on Wednesday, 7 October, to eight years’ jail and six strokes of the cane after being convicted of human trafficking involving a Singaporean woman who was made to perform sex work in Dubai.
Achraf Arjaouy was also fined S$9,000. If he does not pay the fine, he will have to serve an additional six weeks in jail.
Arjaouy had been convicted of a human trafficking charge in April following a trial.
He Promised to Marry Her in Qatar
The woman, identified in court documents as V1, met Arjaouy through a dating app in April 2021, about a month after he arrived in Singapore.
During their relationship, Arjaouy told her that he wanted to marry her in Qatar. Court documents stated that he falsely claimed to be from a wealthy Qatari family and to work as a Qatar Airways pilot.
The prosecution said he also told the woman their relationship would end if she refused to travel with him to Dubai.
Believing that they would eventually go to Qatar to get married, she agreed to leave Singapore with him.
The pair travelled to the United Arab Emirates on 21 April 2021.
However, Arjaouy had no intention of marrying her or taking her to Qatar.
Told Her She Needed US$10,000 to Enter Qatar
While they were in Dubai, Arjaouy falsely told the woman that she needed to show US$10,000, or about S$12,800, in proof of funds before she could enter Qatar.
As she did not have the money, he told her to earn it by providing sexual services.
She eventually gave in after he repeatedly pressured her.
Prosecutors said Arjaouy took intimate photographs of the woman and created profiles for her on escort websites in Dubai.
He also found customers for her and booked a hotel where she provided sexual services. Arjaouy collected the money she earned each day.
Woman Returned to Singapore After Contracting STI
According to court documents, the woman stopped performing sex work in September 2021 after contracting a sexually transmitted infection.
She returned to Singapore two months later.
Arjaouy was subsequently tried on the human trafficking charge and convicted in April 2026.
His sentence was handed down on 7 October: eight years’ jail, six strokes of the cane and a S$9,000 fine, with another six weeks’ imprisonment if he fails to pay the fine.
Arjaouy also has 16 other pending charges, including multiple cheating charges. Those cases will be dealt with separately.
