Singaporean student charged for importing child-like sex doll into Australia

SINGAPORE – A Singaporean student was arrested in Australia on Thursday (Jan 9) and charged for importing a child-like sex doll, said Australian Border Force (ABF) in a statement on its website.

The 26-year-old, who was not identified, was nabbed after border officials intercepted a parcel sent to him from China at a Perth air cargo depot on Christmas Eve last year, it added.

The man, who is in Australia on a student visa, will appear in the Perth Magistrates Court next Friday, the border force said.

If found guilty of importing child abuse material, he can be jailed up to 10 years, fined up to AUD$525,000 (S$487,159), or given both punishments.

ABF Investigations Acting Commander Nicholas Walker said an increasing number of people are importing such sex dolls through international mail and air cargo streams into Australia. 

They are an emerging form of child abuse material, he noted. 

“Dolls that are manufactured for a sexual purpose that depict a child under the age of 18 are classified as ‘objectionable goods’ and are prohibited from being imported into Australia,” he said.

“Tackling child abuse material is an operational priority for the ABF as part of its role in protecting the border from individuals who may pose a threat to the community,” he added.

The border force said its officers x-rayed the parcel after intercepting it, and found a silicone female child-like sex doll in it. Officers searched a residence in Perth about a fortnight later and arrested the Singaporean man, it added.

He has been granted conditional bail. 

The Straits Times understands that Singapore’s High Commission in Canberra is in touch with the Australian authorities in relation to the case. 

In Singapore, new laws were passed last year to better protect minors, including regulations against child abuse material.

In May, the Criminal Law Reform Act makes it illegal to use, produce, distribute, advertise and sell such materials.

This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.