Man paid off underage girlfriend

A JAPANESE man paid his underage girlfriend $1300 as a parting gift when they ended the relationship.

He also told her to lie and say they never had sex.

The 31-year-old man was managing an Asian restaurant in Cairns when he hired the 15year-old girl in mid 2016 – they began a sexual relationship soon after, which lasted about seven months.

The Cairns Magistrates Court was told the restaurant owner spoke with them both and said it needed to end because it was wrong and suggested he give her a gift.

The man was arrested and despite being released on bail on the condition he not contact the girl, they continued to speak, meet up and have sex.

In November 2016, he told the teen he would kill himself if she didn’t lie to police about the sex.

In September, while driving with her, he punched her in the face during a fight and then merged into an oncoming traffic lane on the Bruce Hwy directly into the path of a prime mover truck.

The man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, pleaded guilty to multiple charges including maintaining a relationship with a child, indecent treatment and dangerous driving. He was jailed for five years, wholly suspended.

The man, who was on a work visa, had been in detention for the past seven months.