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SINGAPORE: A 46-year-old man befriended three teenage boys who lived in the same neighbourhood. They hung out often, with the older man sharing about his life and thoughts on religion.
But when the friendship soured over rumours about him, the former gang member allegedly sexually assaulted the boys on one night in 2018.
Mustapah Abdullah, now 50, went on trial at the High Court on Monday (Apr 11). He is conducting his own defence against three counts of sexual assault.
The identities of the victims, who were aged 16 to 17 at the time of the alleged offences, are protected by gag order. They were identified as V1, V2 and V3 in court documents.
The prosecution's case is that Mustapah preyed on the fears of the victims and forced them to perform a sexual act by threatening to hurt them and harass their families.
He "capitalised on the victims' fears of violent reprisals and presented each of them with a false 'choice'" between sexual assault and physical injury, said Deputy Public Prosecutors Gail Wong, Tay Jia En and Gladys Lim.
The prosecution is expected to lead evidence from 20 witnesses to prove the offences. The three victims will be testifying in camera.
The prosecution is seeking a sentence of 26 years' jail and 24 strokes of the cane, with additional jail time in lieu of caning. The accused cannot be caned as he is now 50.
An Institute of Mental Health psychiatrist found that Mustapah has no mental disorder or intellectual disability, and was not of unsound mind at the time of the alleged offences.
ACCUSED AND VICTIMS WERE FRIENDS
According to the prosecution, Mustapah and the victims became acquainted sometime in the later half of 2017. They were introduced by a 16-year-old boy, identified as W1 in court documents.
The group hung out at a hut in their neighbourhood that was near Mustapah's flat. Mustapah was friendly with the teens and would buy them drinks and cigarettes, said the prosecution. The boys learnt that he used to be involved in a gang.
Another mutual friend of the boys, identified in court documents as W2, also started spending time with the group in late 2017.
According to charge sheets, Mustapah is also accused of sexually assaulting W1 on five occasions in 2017 when he was 15, and W2 on two occasions in 2018 when he was 16.
Those are the subject of seven charges that have been stood down while the trial is being heard before Justice See Kee Oon.
RUMOURS AND THREATS
In 2018, the victims heard a rumour that W2 had been made to perform a sexual act on Mustapah. They started to avoid Mustapah after that.
Sometime after midnight on Oct 17, 2018, Mustapah confronted W1 about why the group was avoiding him. W1 told the accused about the rumour, which he said he had heard from V1.
Mustapah demanded that V1 meet him near the hut, threatening to "cut" him if he did not show up, said the prosecution. The accused purportedly choked and slapped V1 during the confrontation.
When Mustapah asked who else knew about the rumour, V1 mentioned V2 and V3's names. The accused allegedly sent offensive text messages to the two victims when he could not reach them with a call. He then let V1 return home.
V3 eventually returned Mustapah's call and met the older man at the hut. When Mustapah asked him who told him the rumour, he said he had forgotten.
Mustapah then allegedly threatened to harass V3 at his house and "cut" his family, and pulled V3's hair. The victim felt afraid, and was allowed to return home after being told not to spread the rumour.
ALLEGED ASSAULTS
According to the prosecution, Mustapah then arranged to meet the victims at the hut at 10.30pm on Oct 18, 2018, where he questioned them about spreading the rumour.
"The accused became physically violent by pulling V3's hair, slapping him (causing his spectacles to drop) and trying to scratch his eye out, and also kicked V2 on his back," said the prosecution, adding that he was holding a bottle of beer at the time.
Mustapah also allegedly threatened the victims by telling them that he used to be involved in gang fights. He said that he would go to the victims' houses and do "something bad" to them, so they should "watch out".
He then allegedly told the victims to speak with him one at a time, at the top of a slide at the playground near the hut.
There, he is accused of telling each victim to either perform a sexual act on him or to "walk away". If they chose the latter option, he would give them "problems" in public.
"From the accused's behaviour and the earlier assaults, the victims understood that the accused meant that he would physically injure them or create trouble at their houses," said the prosecution.
Out of fear, each of the three victims purportedly gave in to Mustapah's threats.
The alleged offences came to light after V1's class advisor noticed the boy was behaving unusually and arranged for him to see the school counsellor.
On Oct 22, 2018, V1 told the counsellor that he and the other two victims were forced to perform a sexual act on the accused. The school made a police report two days later.
The punishment for sexual assault by penetration is up to 20 years' jail, a fine and caning.
The trial continues until Thursday.
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/sin...ually-assault-teenage-boys-playground-2619566
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