Man who lured boy into mosque toilet for sex acts jailed
SINGAPORE — He lured the nine-year-old boy into the mosque toilet with a packet of chips before sexually abusing the child in August last year.
Two months later, 27-year-old Muhammad Muzhafar Abdul Latiff used the same tactic to bait the boy into the toilet in order to perform the same acts.
At the State Courts on Wednesday (23 May), Muzhafar was sentenced to nine months and two weeks’ jail. The Singaporean deliveryman pleaded guilty to two counts of procuring the commission of indecent acts from a child, along with two counts of theft.
He also admitted to procuring indecent acts from a 10-year-old boy at the same mosque on three occasions between September and October last year. Muzhafar had also molested a seven-year-old boy at another mosque on 31 May 2017. The charges for these offences were taken into consideration for his sentencing.
Muzhafar’s victims cannot be named to protect their identities.
Offered victim packet of chips
On 10 August last year, Muzhafar was at a mosque in the East when he called out to the boy. He told the boy he would give him a packet of chips if he followed Muzhafar to the toilet.
The boy complied and Muzhafar locked the cubicle door before removing his pants. He told the boy to strip as well. The boy tried to open the door but Muzhafar told him that he would give him chips if he did not leave.
After the boy stripped, Muzhafar touched his genitals before asking the boy to do the same to him. He then handed the boy a packet of chips before the two went their separate ways.
Muzhafar repeated the act on the boy on 12 October, again providing the victim with a packet of chips after the encounter.
Serial thief
On 25 December last year, Muzhafar stole from a 13-year-old boy who was attending the same mosque as the seven-year-old victim.
The teenager had been napping in the building’s prayer hall when Muzhafar stole his mobile phone – worth $549 – from his bag. Muzhafar had taken the phone with the intention of selling it to a second-hand shop.
A month earlier, Muzhafar stole a bicycle worth $108 from a void deck in Bishan. While he had taken the bicycle on 30 November, its owner realised it was missing only on 17 December.
For procuring the commission of an indecent act with a child, Muzhafar could have been jailed up to five years as well as fined up to $10,000 on a first conviction.
For theft, he could have been jailed up to three years, fined, or both.
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