Singapore: 2.5 years in prison for abuse of a 15-year-old — Channel NewsAsia

In Singapore, a 31-year-old man who worked with young people at a temporary care and assessment centre was sentenced to two and a half years in prison for sexually abusing a 15-year-old former resident of the facility. He pleaded guilty to three charges of sexual penetration involving a minor, while the court took five further incidents into consideration during sentencing. Channel NewsAsia reports.

Relationship after the girl's transfer

At the time of the offences, the man was 27 years old. Since April 2021, he had worked at a facility providing temporary care for children and young people in need of protection. The girl was placed there after a report of domestic abuse of which she was a victim.

The man was responsible for male residents, but knew the girl through games involving residents and staff. In February 2022, she was transferred to another facility. Before leaving, she gave him a farewell card with her contact details because she liked him.

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In March 2022, the man contacted her, although he knew he was not supposed to contact current or former residents of the centre. The following month, he picked the girl up from school and later proposed a relationship. After that, they met repeatedly, and the man committed sexual acts against her. The relationship came to light after an employee of the facility to which the girl had been transferred noticed her clothing. The man later resigned.

Positions of the parties in court

During the hearing, the man, who did not have a lawyer, claimed that he himself had allegedly been a victim and had been psychologically manipulated by the girl. He said that she initiated sexual conversations and that he was trying to be a “cool guy.”

Prosecutor Yohanes Ng said that the convicted man took advantage of the victim's affection and pressured her into various sexual acts. Judge Lee Lit Cheng noted that the man knew about the girl's vulnerability, but as a mature adult he should not have contacted her or started a relationship that later became sexual. The judge also agreed that his explanations indicated a lack of remorse and understanding of what he had done.