SINGAPORE: A 22-year-old man who sexually exploited two boys living in the same housing block was sentenced to two years and eight months’ jail on Monday (Jan 6).
The identities of the victims and the offender are protected by gag order.
The man, who was 20 years old when he offended, earlier pleaded guilty to two counts of sexually exploiting a child and one count of possessing obscene films.
Two charges of filming the sexual abuse and possessing obscene photographs were also considered for sentencing.
In December 2022, the man approached the first victim, an 11-year-old boy, at the void deck of their block.
The boy ignored him. But when the man encountered the boy on a second occasion, he persisted in talking to the child and followed him for a short distance.
After that, the boy went to the man’s home seven or eight times at the man’s invitation.
During one visit between December 2022 and April 2023, the man removed the boy’s clothes and committed an indecent act.
On the other occasions when the boy was in the man’s home, he touched the boy’s stomach and back. He also once asked the boy to touch his private parts.
The man also hugged the boy at the void deck or staircase landing of their block about five times, and was seen by a neighbour on one occasion.
This neighbour informed the boy’s mother about the hug on May 24, 2023, and the mother made a police report after speaking to her son.
The second victim was an eight-year-old boy. Court documents did not specify how they knew each other.
On Apr 3, 2023, the man invited the boy to his home. There, the man told the boy to remove his clothes and the boy did so. The man then committed an indecent act on the boy.
The man filmed the indecent act with his phone, and also asked the boy to blow a kiss for the camera. The boy did so.
This was captured in a 47-second video that the man kept for his sexual gratification.
Police arrested the man in his home on Apr 27, 2023. According to the prosecution, a police report was made against the man by another complainant.
Thirty-seven obscene films were found on the man’s two mobile phones. These included the video of the second victim, as well as five videos of child abuse downloaded from the internet.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Melissa Heng proposed 38-and-a-half months’ jail for the man, while defence counsel Mr Harpal Singh asked for probation.
Ms Heng argued that the young victims were vulnerable, and the degree of sexual exploitation was high.
She also said there was an element of premeditation, as the man invited the victims to his home where he could offend in private.
The man was persistent in getting to know the first victim, following him and calling him “adorable”, Ms Heng added.
The defence sought to show that the man had familial support and had made progress in rehabilitation between the time of the offences and his sentencing.
This progress included him seeking mental health treatment, complying with his bail curfew and making a police report when he noticed an issue with his e-tagging monitor while on bail
But in sentencing, Deputy Principal District Judge Ong Chin Rhu said there was a lack of evidence of rehabilitation.
While the man was seeking treatment for mental health issues, there was no evidence that his condition contributed to his criminal behaviour, she said.
Observing bail conditions like curfew and e-tagging also did not count towards rehabilitation in relation to his criminal conduct, she said.
Noting that the man was already 20 at the earliest of his offences, the judge agreed with the prosecution that he should not be treated as a youthful offender.
The punishment for sexual exploitation of a child under 14 is a jail term of up to seven years, a fine of up to S$10,000 (US$7,300) or both.
The penalty for possessing obscene films is up to six months in jail, a fine of up to S$20,000 or both.
