Chief executive convicted of sexually assaulting son's classmate, plans to appeal
A chief executive was convicted on Monday (6 August) of sexually assaulting his son’s nine-year-old classmate twice on the same night.
The 48-year-old foreign national, who has been living in Singapore since 2010, was found guilty in the High Court of two counts of sexual assault by penetration of a person below 14 years old and one charge of aggravated molestation, following a trial last month.
The court previously heard that the father of three, who cannot be named to protect the boy’s identity, committed the offences in his house after a Halloween party in 2015. The boy was then sleeping on the upper bunk of a double-decker bed in the house during a sleepover.
The man had pulled down the boy’s shorts to touch his genitals and performed oral sex on him twice. He did so while his son was sleeping in the bottom bunk of the bed.
Dressed in a light blue shirt, the man appeared stoic when the verdict was read out by Justice See Kee Oon. He is set to be sentenced on Friday and intends to appeal, said his lawyer, Selva Kumara Naidu.
In passing the verdict, Justice See said the victim, now 12 years old, had no reason to fabricate and falsely accuse the man.
The boy had initially found the man to be “trustworthy”, having stayed over at his house on two separate occasions, Justice See added.
In contrast, the judge noted that the accused’s defence was based on “afterthoughts and conjecture”, aimed at undermining the boy’s credibility.
Selva had previously suggested that the boy might have fantasised about the incident after having consumed too much sugar during the Halloween party.
His lawyer also tried to portray the boy as an attention-seeking liar who had been sexualised by his school environment.
Bail revoked, gag order remains
The man will remain in custody after the court granted the prosecution’s application to revoke his bail, which was set at $60,000, as he was a clear flight risk with “no continuing ties” to Singapore.
Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Christina Koh noted that the man faces more than eight years’ in jail and 24 strokes of the cane for the two counts of sexual assault.
For sexual assault by penetration, the man faces a jail term of between eight and 20 years and at least 12 strokes of the cane on each charge. For aggravated molestation, he could be jailed up to five years and/or fined and/or caned.
DPP Koh argued that the currently unemployed man is “rootless” as he had sold off his car in Singapore and is staying in a service apartment alone, with his wife and three sons currently living overseas.
The man and his wife also have significant investments outside Singapore amounting to about US$3 million (S$4.1 million), which will allow him to live comfortably overseas.
Selva argued that since his client wishes to appeal the conviction, he may spend “months” in prison for which there will be no compensation. He proposed to let the man report to his investigating officer, if necessary, on a daily basis, pending the final resolution of the case.
The court also denied the prosecution’s request to lift the gag order on the man’s identity.
In a separate case, the man was slapped last Thursday with charges of allegedly sexually assaulting an eight-year-old boy between April and May 2011. The man is accused of attempting to perform oral sex on the boy, three counts of molesting him by fondling his private parts, and one count of showing him a pornographic video.
Related stories:
Man awaiting verdict for molesting boy faces new molest charges involving second child
Too much sugar led 9-year-old boy to imagine sexual assault: defence lawyer
Man on trial for alleged sexual offences against son’s 9-year-old classmate
