SINGAPORE — Two men from India who assaulted and robbed two sex workers while on holiday in Singapore have each been sentenced to five years and one month in prison, along with 12 strokes of the cane, The Straits Times reported on Friday.

Arokkiyasami Daison, 23, and Rajendran Mayilarasan, 27, pleaded guilty to charges of voluntarily causing hurt while committing robbery.

A Singapore court heard that the pair arrived in the city-state on April 24 for a vacation. 

Two days later, while walking in the Little India area, they were approached by an unidentified man who offered to connect them with sex workers. The man gave them contact details for two women before leaving.

Arokkiyasami then suggested to Rajendran that they lure the women into hotel rooms and rob them for money. 

That same evening, around 6pm, they met the first victim in a hotel room. 

Once inside, they tied her hands and legs with clothing, slapped her, and stole jewellery, S$2,000 (RM6,500) in cash, her passport, and several bank cards.

Later that night, they met a second woman at another hotel around 11pm. 

The court heard that they dragged her by the arms, with Rajendran covering her mouth to stop her from screaming. 

They took S$800 in cash, two mobile phones, and her passport before threatening her not to leave the room until they returned.

Their crimes came to light the next day when the second victim confided in another man, who alerted the authorities.

During sentencing, both men — who were not represented by lawyers — pleaded for leniency, but the judge imposed custodial and corporal punishment, citing the violence involved in the offences.

Singapore imposes mandatory caning for certain violent crimes, including robbery, and has some of the world’s toughest penalties for offences involving physical harm.