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Man sentenced to reformative training for repeated sex with underage girl

Singapore state courts (Yahoo News Singapore file photo)
Singapore state courts (Yahoo News Singapore file photo)

He first had sex with a 13-year-old girl who became pregnant and gave birth to a baby boy. Not knowing what to do with the baby, the pair left their son outside the man’s flat.

While on probation for the offence of having sex with a minor, the man, then 19, had sex with the girl again about a year later. This resulted in a second pregnancy and another baby boy being born.

On Tuesday (13 March), the man, now 21, appeared before the same District Judge who had sentenced him to probation and was given reformative training on one charge of having sex with a female under 16.

The man was also given 13 months’ jail for breaching his probation conditions. This sentence will run concurrently with his reformative training, which is usually given to young offenders and ranges from 18 months to three years.

None of the parties involved can be named due to a gag order. The couple’s children are being cared for by the girl’s parents and the man stopped supporting his children financially from April last year.

According to the man’s lawyer, Criminal Legal Aid Scheme Advocate Sadhana Rai, the man is currently engaged and moving on with his life.

In sentencing the man, District Judge Mathew Joseph expressed disappointment that the man, who is waiting to be enlisted in National Service, had reoffended.

“When I placed you on probation two years ago, I told you I’ll give you a chance. Sadly, you’ve disappointed me and several other people including family members…It pains this court to have to sentence you again,” he said.

The man first met the girl at a birthday function when they were still schooling. The pair started dating on 18 August 2014 when he was 17 years old while she was 13 years old.

They would spend time at the void deck of the flat in Ang Mo Kio where the girl lived. In late January 2015, shortly after the girl’s 14th birthday, they had sex at the staircase landing outside the flat.

The couple had a second sexual encounter a few days later at the same spot. On both occasions, the man did not use a condom. A few months after, the girl told the man that she was pregnant.

On 2 August 2015, the girl experienced a stomachache. Deputy Public Prosecutor Sruthi Boppana told the court, “While she was in a toilet, she felt extreme pain and when she felt that she had finally passed motion, she heard the sound of a baby crying.”

After realising there was a baby in the toilet bowl, the girl picked the baby up and rinsed it in the sink, DPP Sruthi Boppana added.

The girl called the man over and both panicked on how they should deal with the situation. The man suggested that they place the baby outside the man’s house for his family to find and raise the baby. The man intended to watch his child grow up without informing anyone that he was the father.

The girl agreed and both placed the baby in an SG50 bag. The girl wrote a letter asking for help to care for the baby, adding that her “husband” recently passed away due to an accident.

The man’s mother later discovered the baby outside the flat and told her husband, who then called the police. Meanwhile, both the girl and the man remained at the void deck to ensure that the baby was found.

Later that night, the pair confessed to the man’s parents that the baby, who was born premature at 31 weeks, belonged to them and the police were called again.

Sometime in May 2016 after the man was placed on probation for the offence, he visited the girl and both went to the same staircase landing where they had unprotected sex again. The man was then 19 years old while the girl was 15 years old.

Two months later, the girl realised that she had missed her periods and took a pregnancy test. The pair decided to keep the news to themselves just as they did during the girl’s first pregnancy.

The girl gave birth to a second baby boy prematurely on 6 December 2016, after she experienced sharp pains in her abdomen. She informed her mother that she was pregnant and her mother brought her to the hospital, which later informed the police about the case.

In mitigation, Sadhana told the court that the couple were in a “loving relationship” and that there was no element of exploitation.

For having sex with a minor under 16, the man could have been jailed for up to ten years and/or fined.