Paedophile who was 'clear danger to young boys' handed 40 years' jail

SINGAPORE – A 31-year-old paedophile who first targeted pre-teen boys he befriended, then violated even younger relatives in their own homes, was sentenced to 40 years' jail and 24 strokes of the cane on Monday (Sept 18).

The man, who was diagnosed with paedophilic disorder and assessed in a psychiatric report to be "a clear danger to young boys", had pleaded guilty in the High Court to three charges of rape and four charges of sexual assault by penetration.

Another 47 charges, mostly for similar sexual offences, were taken into consideration during sentencing.

The offences, which were related to various acts he committed against six victims in all, were described by prosecutors as "among the worst cases of paedophilic sexual abuse".

In a letter to the court, the man claimed he was a victim of sexual assault in his youth.

But Justice Mavis Chionh said this was not a mitigating factor and, in any event, there was no evidence to support his allegations.

The judge said the man was an adult when he committed the offences and was capable of making his own choice. "His child victims, tragically, did not have any such choice," she said.

From 2012 to 2014, the man sexually assaulted three friends, who were aged 10 to 13 at the time.

Between 2014 and 2018, he was in and out of jail for offences such as theft and mischief.

From 2019 to 2020, he sexually abused three nephews, who were aged between six and nine at the time.

In October 2019, while he was staying at his aunt’s flat, he inappropriately touched one nephew, then nine years old, and performed a sex act on the sleeping boy.

In August 2020, the man’s cousin, who delivered parcels for a living, offered the accused a job as his assistant, and invited him to stay with his family in their flat.

The cousin had two sons – an eight-year-old from his previous marriage and a six-year-old from his current marriage.

Between August 2020 and September 2020, the accused took the younger boy into the toilet and handed the victim a mobile phone to distract him.

As the boy played a game on the phone, he raped the victim.

The man not only violated the two boys separately, but also took the stepbrothers into the toilet to abuse them together, and made them perform sex acts with each other.

The sex crimes came to light in October 2020 after the accused's mother, who was staying at the flat, saw him lying on top of the younger boy.

After hearing about this, the boys' father managed to locate the accused, and drove him to meet other family members.

The resulting commotion led a bystander to call the police.

The man was arrested on the same day.

This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.

ALSO READ: Jail and cane for man who made teen sister-in-law feel like a 'sex slave'