Man slept with girl, 10

A man was jailed for more than five years yesterday for having sex with a 10-year-old girl he met online and for threatening to publish her nude pictures on the internet if she did not do what he told her.

Chan Ting-ip, 21, pleaded guilty in the District Court to two counts of sexual intercourse with a girl under the age of 13 and one count of criminal intimidation. Deputy Judge Johnny Chan Jong-herng sentenced him to 64 months' imprisonment.

The court heard Chan met the girl through the MSN messaging system and the pair met at the girl's home in 2006. Chan said he wanted to have sex although he knew she was only 10. Initially the girl refused, but agreed after Chan reassured her. The following year Chan again asked the girl, then 11, for sex and she agreed.

After the second encounter the girl changed her MSN address but around the end of last year Chan sent a text message to her mobile phone asking her to stand naked in front of a computer webcam, which she did.

But she refused a similar request in January this year. Chan then threatened to publish the nude photos online.