Retiree accused of sexual assault claims boy asked to 'play' with him
A 63-year-old man accused of performing oral sex on a secondary one student in a park toilet in Tampines claimed that the boy said he had wanted to “play” with the retiree.
Taking the stand on Thursday (20 July), Chua Hock Leong faces one count of committing sexual assault on the 12-year-old boy. Chua told the High Court that the boy, who cannot be named due to a gag order, made the first move at Tampines Eco Green Park on 27 January last year.
Chua claimed that the boy had said, “Uncle, want to play or not?”, which he understood the request as referring to sexual activities and rejected the boy. The accused added that the boy went to urinate in the toilet at the park, and he saw the boy’s penis. However, Chua maintained that he never touched the boy.
Later, the duo headed to some bushes near an MRT track where Chua masturbated, according to the accused. He told the boy to keep a lookout for others. The boy also touched his semen, Chua said.
However, Deputy Public Prosecutor Stella Tan contested Chua’s version of events. The DPP argued that on the day of the incident, Chua had led the boy to the park, giving him $2 on the way.
According to the prosecution, Chua followed the boy into the cubicle when he was urinating. Chua then asked to perform oral sex on the boy repeatedly. Each time, the boy declined. After the boy said no the third time, Chua pulled down the boy’s shorts and boxers and performed oral sex on him, said DPP Tan.
In response Chua said, “I never do that thing.”
When the trial opened on Tuesday, the prosecution said that the boy, who lives with his mother, stepfather and younger brother, ran away from home on 26 January last year. He spent the night at Changi Airport and met his best friend at Tampines the next morning.
His best friend handed him a change of clothes. The boy then followed his friend to school and waited outside for him to be dismissed.
At around 9.30am, the boy was sitting at a staircase at a block of flats opposite the school when Chua talked to him. Chua asked the boy if he wanted to walk to the park with him and the boy agreed.
The prosecution said that the boy was relieving himself in the toilet cubicle when Chua forced his way in and performed oral sex on the boy. The boy pushed Chua away and took a taxi to his biological father’s home. He went to KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital on his own that evening as he felt unwell.
The boy’s mother received a call from the hospital and went to meet him. When the boy told his mother what happened, the mother made a police report.
Chua was arrested on 31 January. He will be in court again on 21 July for final submissions from both sides.
If convicted of sexual assault by penetration, Chua can be jailed between eight and 20 years.
