Man posed as 16-year-old to befriend girl, 12, on Instagram and have sex with her

Selina Lum
The Straits Times
October 16, 2023

Posing as a 16-year-old, a man befriended a 12-year-old girl on Instagram, and subsequently persuaded her to meet him on four occasions, where he engaged in sexual acts with her.

On Monday, Muhammad Hudri Ahmad, now 44, was sentenced to 19 years’ jail and 18 strokes of the cane by the High Court after he pleaded guilty to three charges of statutory rape.

Another 12 similar charges were taken into consideration, including five counts of sexual penetration of a minor and two counts of performing an obscene act with a young person.

These offences took place in 2019, soon after Hudri was released from prison for having sex with a 13-year-old girl a day after meeting her online. He was convicted and sentenced to 40 months’ jail in 2016.

Hudri, who is sexually attracted to girls aged 11 to 15, was diagnosed by the Institute of Mental Health in October 2020 as a paedophile who poses a significant danger to young victims.

In the current case, he sent an unsolicited message to the victim in October 2019, seeking to befriend her.

He lied that he was 16, and exchanged phone numbers with the victim, who told him she was a 12-year-old primary school pupil.

Later that month, Hudri arranged to meet her at a staircase landing of an HDB block in Woodlands.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Tan Jing Min told the court the victim was shocked to see that he looked much older.

Hudri and the girl then sat on the stairs and chatted before they had unprotected sex.

A week later, they had unprotected sex again at the victim’s home in Sembawang after she told him that no one would be at home.

The third incident took place in November 2019 at a staircase landing of an HDB block in Sembawang.  

The incidents came to light during a session with the victim’s school counsellor. The victim lodged a report on Aug 21, 2020, stating that she was raped. 

On Monday, Deputy Public Prosecutor Kenny Yang sought a sentence of 20 years’ jail with 24 strokes of the cane, arguing that the offences were premeditated and highlighted Hudri’s paedophilic disorder.

Mr Anand Nalachandran, from the Public Defender’s Office, argued that 18 years’ jail and 12 strokes of the cane was sufficient to address the need for deterrence.