Teen performed sex act and had sex with underage girlfriends

Samuel Devaraj
The Straits Times
February 16, 2022

A teenager had sex with his 14-year-old girlfriend, then about two months later, performed a sex act on his new 12-year-old girlfriend. 

A month later, he had sex with his former girlfriend again.

On Wednesday (Feb 16), the Singaporean, now 20, pleaded guilty to three counts of sexual penetration of minors below 16 and one count of voyeurism.

Details about the offender and the victims cannot be disclosed as individuals below 18 years old are covered under the Children and Young Persons Act (CYPA), which protects their identities.

Deputy public prosecutor Emily Koh told the court that the offender got to know his first girlfriend, the older girl, some time in 2017, when they were in the same secondary school.

They got into a romantic relationship at the end of 2017 while he was a Secondary 4 student, and she was in Sec 1.

On Dec 1, 2018, after watching a movie in a cinema, the couple went to the offender's home and discussed sex.

The offender then led his girlfriend to a common walkway. He started kissing her and eventually had sex with her.

The offender ended his relationship with the girl and got into a relationship with a younger girl - an ex-girlfriend of the first girl's younger brother - some time in February 2019. He had gotten to know her while he was in the first relationship.

Some time between Feb 14 and 23 in 2019, he performed a sex act on his new girlfriend at Tampines Hub, when she was 12 years old.

On March 23, 2019, the ex-girlfriend went to the offender's home to help him pack his luggage as he was leaving for a trip the next day. The pair had sex.

In a separate incident on July 10, 2020, while in the unisex changing room of Cotton On at Bedok Mall, the offender heard someone entering the cubicle beside his.

He lifted his mobile phone above the cubicle wall, took a photo of the occupant and realised it was a female. He then took another photo.

DPP Koh said: "The accused's act was discovered when the victim saw the accused's handphone above her cubicle partition. She went out of the changing room cubicle and sought help from another customer."

He was subsequently detained and arrested.

The offender, who was present in court, was represented by lawyer Kalaithasan Karuppaya.

Mr Kalaithasan said his client is currently serving his national service, which has helped him to be more disciplined.

The offender, who is a diploma holder, had also sought counselling since committing his offences, said the lawyer, adding that he had fully cooperated with the police during investigations.

He will return to court on March 25.

For sexually penetrating a minor who is between 14 and 16, he can be jailed for up to 10 years or both. If the relationship is found to be exploitative, he can be jailed for up to 20 years, fined or caned.

For sexually penetrating a minor below 14, he can also be jailed up for to 20 years, fined or caned.

For voyeurism, he can be jailed for up to two years, fined and caned.