Crane operator admits to sexually assaulting 14-year-old boy at swimming complex
Toa Payoh Swimming Complex.
SINGAPORE — He initiated conversation with a 14-year-old boy who attended lessons at Toa Payoh Swimming Complex on Sunday evenings.
Bangladeshi crane operator Kabir Mohd Alamgir, 45, found the boy’s physique to be good and paid attention to him, asking for his name and the school he attended. The boy, who cannot be named due to a court order, answered out of politeness.
A few months after striking up conversation, Kabir sexually assaulted the boy in an episode that left the victim traumatised, ceasing his visits to the swimming complex – where he had attended lessons since his primary school days – and stopping swimming for a long time.
On Tuesday (June 5), Kabir pleaded guilty to one count of sexual assault by penetration. Another charge of outrage of modesty will be taken into consideration for sentencing, which is expected to take place on Thursday.
Kabir, who had been working in Singapore for 19 years before the offence, began speaking to the boy in February or March 2016. The conversations took place at a bench in the men’s toilet, after the boy had finished showering and was changing into his clothes.
The boy had a habit of leaving his clothes on the bench and would emerge from the cubicle naked after showering. Once, Kabir asked why he was not circumcised.
“The accused found the victim to have a good physique and paid particular attention as the victim was always at the complex at about the same time as the accused,” said Deputy Public Prosecutor Gail Wong.
On Oct 9 in 2016, the boy entered one of the toilet cubicles after a swimming lesson, which took place from 4.30pm to 5.30pm on Sundays.
Closed-circuit television footage showed Kabir entering the complex at about 5.22pm. He loitered near the wash basin located outside the men’s toilet, repeatedly rinsing his mouth and cleaning it with his fingers while looking in the direction of the pool where the boy was having his lesson, said Ms Wong.
After the boy had removed his trunks, Kabir knocked and said he had left his key in the cubicle.
The boy pulled up his trunks and turned around, only to find Kabir, who was shirtless and wearing pants, had entered. The boy observed as Kabir searched the floor for the key and claimed to have found it.
According to Kabir’s statement to the police, he decided to “have some fun” with the boy at this point. He moved closer and touched the victim’s private parts before performing oral sex on him.
Shocked and at a loss, the victim froze and did not react or shout for help. Afraid, he softly told Kabir a few times to stop.
But Kabir only did so after the boy said his father was fetching him. The ordeal lasted for two to three minutes.
After the incident, the boy met his father and sister outside the complex, the court heard. When he boarded the car, his sister teased him for being slower than usual in finishing his shower. This was when the boy, now 15, blurted out that a “crazy man” had sexually assaulted him and burst into tears.
His father could not locate Kabir as the latter had left. They later lodged a report at the police station and Kabir was arrested the following night.
A medical examination found the boy feeling “very shocked and surprised” by the assault and, for a week after that, he feared sleeping alone and was getting nightmares.
For his offence, Kabir could be jailed for up to 20 years and be fined and caned.
