Man jailed 16 years, caned for sexual assaults on 8 teen girls; impregnated 1
The man sexually assaulted girls between 13 and 16 years old, including abusing one with his friends.
Listen to this article
6 min
This audio is generated by an AI tool.
Koh Wan Ting
13 May 2024 07:31PM
BookmarkShare
SINGAPORE: Over two years, a teenager sexually assaulted eight girls, aged 13 to 16, impregnating one of them.
Now 21, he was jailed for 16 years and sentenced to 14 strokes of the cane on Monday (May 13) at the High Court.
He pleaded guilty to five charges comprising one count of sexual assault by penetration, one count of statutory rape, and three counts of sexually penetrating a minor under 16.
Another 12 charges of a similar nature were taken into consideration for his sentencing.
The five charges that the accused pleaded guilty to involve four victims, all of whom were secondary school students aged between 13 and 16 then.
As the accused was 17 years old for some of the offences, his identity is protected under the Children and Young Persons Act.
He committed the sexual offences against the eldest victim with two friends - A and B. We are not naming the two friends as this could lead to the identification of the accused.
A was 33 years old at the time, while B was 18.
A lived alone in a one-room flat and would regularly invite large groups of people to drink alcohol there. One of these large groups involved the victim.
On Jun 12, 2021, the victim drank with her friends and the accused at Admiralty Park. Court documents stated that the victim met the accused for the first time that night, but did not specify how both ended up drinking together.
The accused asked a few friends, including A and B, to join later on. They drank some more, with A seen plying the victim with alcohol.
A suggested that the group continue drinking at his house but the victim declined. Still, he took her home and forced more drinks on her. At this point, more than 10 people were in the unit and the victim could not sit properly or walk straight.
A while later, the victim's two friends left her at the unit under the care of the accused. The accused agreed to care for her, despite knowing that he, A and B were likely to sexually abuse her.
In spite of the victim's unwillingness, the accused forcefully pulled her into the bedroom. Together with his two friends, the accused violated the woman, who was too weak to stop them. She drifted in and out of consciousness but knew that several men were involved.
The abuse stopped when the victim's friends came to fetch her on the early morning of Jun 13, 2021. They were worried as the victim had not answered her phone.
A, who answered the front door, initially denied knowing the victim. Her friends eventually managed to retrieve the victim, in her weakened state. Outside the unit, the victim disclosed that she had been raped.
Subsequently, a group of the victim's friends and brothers confronted A's group. The confrontation grew violent and a passer-by called the police for help.
Following the incident, the victim suffered from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.
Another victim, then 14, knew the accused as her best friend's ex-boyfriend. They met in February 2020.
On Feb 24, 2020, the accused asked the victim to meet him for the first time. They hung out at a staircase landing where he made sexual advances on her.
The girl declined when the accused asked for sex, but relented after he gave her a "look of disappointment", according to court documents.
They had unprotected sex several times that day and the next, when the accused stayed at his cousin's house.
ADVERTISEMENT
After the two parted ways on Feb 25, 2020, the victim tried to text him several times but was ignored.
Her sexual activities came to light in June 2020 when her mother found that her abdomen had grown fuller. The victim tested positive in a pregnancy test and a police report was lodged the next month.
The girl subsequently gave birth to the child.
OTHER VICTIMS
The accused knew a third victim, the youngest at 13, through a mutual friend. The pair got into a relationship in Jan 24, 2020 but broke up on Feb 10, 2020.ADVERTISEMENT
This victim was a friend of the girl who gave birth to the accused's child.
The accused asked this victim to have sex with him in his house, and continued to pester her until she relented.
The fourth victim, then 15, knew the accused through Instagram in 2019.
They chatted regularly and began dating. On May 22, 2020, the two met and chatted at a staircase landing.
The accused began touching the girl and removed her clothing. The girl did not know what to do, but told herself to just let things happen. He had unprotected sex with the girl.
ADVERTISEMENT
A few days later, the victim met with the accused to speak about the sexual encounter, but before they could chat, the accused removed her clothes again. He sexually assaulted her even as she refused his advances.
The girl then slapped the accused as she was worried she might get pregnant. The accused claimed that he would care for her and her child.
They broke up in May as the girl realised the accused was talking to another girl.
This victim bought pregnancy test kits and tested twice but the results were negative. Her teacher later found out about the incident and her parents were eventually informed.
ADVERTISEMENT
The accused had been administered with a stern warning for six counts of sexual penetration of a minor under 14 on Feb 10, 2020. However he went on to commit more sexual offences even after he was called for police investigations, arrested, and released on bail.
The prosecution sought 12 to 14 years' jail and 14 strokes of the cane.
Deputy Public Prosecutors Lim Ying Min, Shamini Joseph and Tay Zhi Jie said in documents that the accused's crimes against young victims had involved "gross violations" of their dignity and "bodily integrity".
ADVERTISEMENT
"The accused had also used the internet as a means to reach out to unsuspecting young victims ... and also targeted friends of his victims.
"His track record shows that he was a sexual predator who had no qualms about using young victims for his sexual gratification," said the prosecution.
For his sexual assault by penetration offence, the accused could have been jailed up to 20 years, fined or caned.
For statutory rape, he could have been jailed up to 20 years, fined or caned.
The offence of sexual penetration of a minor under 16 carries a jail term of up to 10 years, a fine, or both.
