'Sexual predator' who preyed on five boys in two years gets jail, caning

SINGAPORE: A man labelled a "sexual predator" by the prosecution was sentenced to four years and three months' jail, and six strokes of the cane for his sexual offences against five adolescents.

Muhammad Arif Mohamad, 26, had preyed on the five boys aged between 12 and 14 between February 2015 and April 2017.

He had lured them with incentives such as phone credits, food and cigarettes, and molested the boys in places like McDonald's, the cinema, a playground and in parks.

The court heard that the delivery assistant got to know his first victim sometime in 2014 via Facebook.

He also assisted the 13-year-old boy's mother in delivering products to her customers, and was trusted by the victim's parents, who would ask him to look after their son.

HE CLAIMED HE WANTED TO DEMONSTRATE CIRCUMCISION

On the night of Feb 13, 2015, the boy's father asked the victim to walk Arif to a bus stop. At the void deck of the victim's home, Arif told him to remove his jeans, claiming that he wanted to demonstrate how a doctor performed circumcision.

The teenager refused to do so, but Arif pulled on his arm and forcefully pulled down his jeans and underwear. He then molested him while the boy cried.

Arif later apologised to the boy, who did not tell his parents about the incident as he felt scared, said Deputy Public Prosecutor Zhou Yihong.

In mid-2016, Arif targeted a 12-year-old boy who was with his friends at a McDonald's outlet in Boon Keng.

Arif knew one of the boy's friends, and was chatting with the friends while the victim sat outside McDonald's and covered his eyes with both hands as he was tired.

Arif approached the sleeping boy and slid his hand into the victim's pants, molesting him. Alarmed, the boy pushed Arif's hands away.

ARIF TREATED 14-YEAR-OLD TO MCDONALD'S

The serial molester continued his streak of offences with a 14-year-old boy in early December 2016.

The boy was friends with three other teenagers who knew Arif. Arif would top up the phone credits of the three teens.

Arif exchanged numbers with the boy and contacted him a few days later asking him to meet. They met near the victim's home and again at Vivocity, where Arif treated the boy to McDonald's.

Arif later invited the boy to his home and the boy agreed, thinking he could have fun watching movies and playing games.

At the house, Arif led the boy to his room and locked the door, before moving to his bed. He hugged the boy, kissed his face and molested him.

Feeling uncomfortable, the boy asked to play with Arif's phone. As he was doing this, Arif masturbated the boy. Feeling scared, the victim asked Arif to stop, but he did not.

After this, he took the boy to a bus interchange and gave him money for a bus home.

Arif continued preying on this boy that month, inviting him to watch a movie and molesting him during the film.

When Arif asked the boy to perform a sex act on him, after giving the victim a pack of cigarettes and a phone, the boy refused and returned the phone to Arif.

MOLESTED BOY AT EAST COAST PARK, IN CINEMA

In March 2017, Arif preyed on a fourth boy, whom he had met on Facebook and hung out with at various McDonald's outlets. He treated this 13-year-old to cigarettes, food and LAN gaming sessions.

The pair met at East Coast Park at about 2am to 3am. While following the boy to the toilet and back to a hut where they were sitting, Arif molested the boy once over his pants before groping him inside his pants.

On another occasion after this, Arif molested the boy at a hut at East Coast Park after treating him to McDonald's take-out and smoking.

He molested the boy for about 10 minutes in a theatre in Ang Mo Kio while watching Fast and Furious 8 in April 2017, after treating him to LAN gaming.

Arif pleaded guilty to six charges under the Children and Young Persons Act and two charges of outraging the modesty of a minor, with an additional 13 charges taken into consideration.

Court documents did not specify how Arif was eventually arrested.

PROSECUTOR CALLS ARIF A PREDATOR, DEFENCE SAYS HE WAS SEXUALLY ASSAULTED AT 13

The prosecution asked for a sentence of between 51 and 57 months' jail and at least six strokes of the cane, saying that Arif had lured his victims with incentives.

Pointing out that the first victim was "clearly distressed" as he had cried after being molested by Arif, the prosecutor said Arif was "clearly a predator" who preyed on young boys.

When they were receptive, he lured them, and when they were not, he used force on them, said the prosecutor.

Defence lawyer Srijit Jeshua Shashedaran told the court that his client had admitted his guilt as soon as he was charged, and showed remorse.

He claimed that Arif had been sexually assaulted at the age of 13, and was deeply remorseful.

He is also open to assistance in curbing his paedophilic urges, said the lawyer.

However, the judge said that the report by the Institute of Mental Health did not state that Arif suffered from any sexual deviant behaviour.

The prosecutor agreed and said the alleged sexual assault of Arif when he was a boy had not been raised during investigations nor when Arif's forensic history was taken at IMH.

RATHER DISTURBING CASE: JUDGE

District Judge Mathew Joseph said this was an "egregious case" with several aggravating factors including a large number of charges, victims of young ages and offences committed over two years.

"It's rather disturbing," said the judge. "I agree entirely with the prosecution that you are a sexual predator. You chose your victims, you lured them and entrapped them."

He said Arif was "quite devious" in the way he lured the young and vulnerable victims with rewards, and exhibited "a certain cunning streak".

He granted Arif deferment of his sentence for a week in order for him to settle his affairs, acknowledging that he had a long sentence to serve.