‘I just want to play’, says man jailed for offences against 3 boys
SINGAPORE — A 7-year-old boy was playing with a display laptop at a bookstore when an older man walked by and rubbed his ears.
Wang Kanglong, 33, then shook the boy’s head from side to side.
The boy, who cannot be named to protect his identity, tried to shake Wang off but to no avail.
On Wednesday (Jan 2), Wang, whose occupation is not known, was sentenced to four weeks’ jail after he admitted to two counts of using criminal force and one count of causing hurt to three children.
He was released on Wednesday as District Judge May Mesenas backdated his sentence to when he was first remanded on Nov 24 last year.
The court heard that on Nov 22, the victim was at Popular bookstore at Tampines Mall with another boy. His mother was browsing elsewhere in the bookstore.
Wang approached him from behind and committed the offence, only stopping after a few seconds.
The boy and his friend tried to tell him to go away, but Wang persisted and tried to talk to them.
His mother subsequently called the police.
Wang had committed the act while on bail for a similar offence that took place on Oct 13 last year.
He was at Eastpoint Mall then and approached a 3-year-old boy who was waiting for his parents to close their shop.
He asked the child, who was with his domestic helper, if he wanted to follow him for ice cream.
“He also asked the victim if he wanted to go to McDonald’s and Disneyland,” said Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Shenna Tjoa.
The domestic helper asked Wang to leave, but he persisted.
Wang then pulled the child away and tried to carry him, but the maid took the child away. The child’s father subsequently made a police report.
On July 11 last year, Wang approached a 5-year-old boy at a church in Pasir Ris and tried to snatch the boy’s toy.
During the struggle, Wang grabbed the boy on his left shoulder.
The boy’s mother, who was elsewhere helping her son locate a part of his toy, saw what happened and confronted Wang, who walked off. A church staff member made a police report.
DPP Tjoa said Wang has had a litany of personal protection order breaches in the past against his father.
Asked by DJ Mesenas why he committed the offences, Wang said: “I just want to play with (the children).”
“I tell myself to stay away from children. I learnt it the hard way, I will not do it again.”
DJ Mesenas agreed with the sentence DPP Tjoa asked for and gave Wang four weeks’ jail.
