Reformative training for 20-year-old who repeatedly molested younger cousin
A girl, now 15, did not resist her older male cousin's sexual advances as she respected him and did not wish to upset him.
SINGAPORE — In the span of three years, her close cousin molested her at least half a dozen times.
Yet she suffered in silence, neither struggling against his advances nor confiding in anyone because she feared ruining their families’ relationship.
Eventually, her older brother noticed that the girl and their cousin, who was five years older than her, were often together in a locked bedroom. When he told their mother about his suspicions, the victim finally revealed what had happened.
The young man cannot be named because of a court order to protect the girl’s identity.
Now 20, he was on Thursday (Oct 15) sentenced to at least one year of reformative training — a regimented rehabilitation programme for offenders under 21 who commit relatively serious crimes.
Offenders are given a minimum period on the programme, subject to how they respond to the rehabilitation. It is a harsher punishment than probation, which allows young offenders to continue with their education or employment while serving their sentences.
The young man earlier pleaded guilty to three counts of molesting a minor. Four other charges were taken into consideration during sentencing.
THE CASE
From 2016 to May 2019, he molested her by rubbing his private parts against her buttocks.
She did not resist as she respected him and did not wish to upset him. Their families shared a close relationship.
In 2016, when she was 10 and he was 15, he suggested that they and four other cousins play a game of hide-and-seek.
He split them into three pairs and assigned the pairings, getting the victim to play with him.
After the game started, he took her into a bedroom, locked the door and told her to lie on a mattress in a prone position. He molested her for about two minutes.
In May 2019, when she was 13, he barged into the toilet when she finished showering and pulled her into a bedroom.
She made up an excuse that she needed to retrieve an item from elsewhere, but he said that she could do that later. He then removed her towel and molested her.
Shortly afterwards, her brother told their mother about his suspicions. The victim filed a police report on May 30, 2019.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Kor Zhen Hong said the authorities did not recommend that the accused undergo probation. He added that the young man's diagnosis of conduct disorder — a behavioural condition — by the Institute of Mental Health did not contribute to his offences.
The authorities assessed his risk of re-offending as moderate.
The man told District Judge May Mesenas: “I apologise for everything I have done and I am remorseful. I accept whatever you give me.”
In sentencing him, District Judge Mesenas said: “Whatever has happened in the past has been done. I don’t know how the victim is doing, but I hope she will be able to overcome it and deal with what you have done with her.”
