A 38 year old SAF Lieutenant Colonel was sentenced to 5 months jail on Friday for having commercial sex with an underage prostitute.
Emlyn Thomas Thariyan had allegedly paid the 17 year old prostitute $5000 for sex in February of 2011.
He had initially denied the charges but was found guilty after a 10 day trial earlier this year, however he is now appealing the case.
Thariyan had asked to address the court himself and the judge had allowed it.
When he spoke to the court, he started by saying that he has served this country impeccably. He also said that he had already given up 2 years of his life over this case.
Although the court found him guilty, he continues to insist that he is not guilty of this charge and he is appealing both the conviction and the sentence.
He highlighted that the case was one where it was his words against the underage prostitute’s words.
As he is appealing the case, he was granted bail with a bail set at $30,000.