Singapore  - A contractor received a one-year jail term in what is believed to be the first sentencing under laws Singapore introduced in February that toughened penalties for having sex with underage prostitutes, news reports said Tuesday.

Tan Chye Hin, 55, pleaded guilty to having sex with a 16-year-old sex worker but is appealing Monday's sentence by a district court.

A second man is awaiting sentencing for having sex with the same prostitute, also in August and also for 100 Singapore dollars (68 US dollars).

Accountant Rodney Sim Hang Nge, 61, is to be sentenced January 7 for having sex twice with the girl from China.

The new laws, which are aimed at preventing child exploitation, carry a maximum jail sentence of seven years and a fine for having sex with someone under the age of 18, the legal age of consent for commercial sex.

Last month, the High Court increased the sentence to one year on Chinese national Wang Minjian, 36, for acting as pimp to the girl and fined him 25,000 Singapore dollars for offences such as bringing a prostitute into Singapore and living off her earnings.

The prosecution had appealed for a stiffer sentence than the 8,000-Singapore-dollar fine initially imposed on Wang. (dpa)