'Serial predator' targeting schoolgirls online by posing as teen gets jail, caning for rape

SINGAPORE: A young man targeted four schoolgirls as young as 11 years old online by posing as a "lovestruck teenager" before taking them to a secluded place where he sexually assaulted them.

Syed Muhammad Yusri Syed Yasser, now 25, was sentenced on Monday (Sep 29) to jail for 14 years and eight months, and 24 strokes of the cane.

He pleaded guilty to two counts of aggravated statutory rape and one count of sexual penetration of a minor, with four other charges taken into consideration.

The court heard that Syed was a freelance packer at a warehouse at the time of the offences.

According to court documents, he had a clear modus operandi, becoming acquainted with a victim through social media and online chat applications before moving the conversation to WhatsApp.

There, he would ask the victim, who was always much younger than him, to be his girlfriend.

Syed would lie about his age, claiming to be younger and closer in age to the victim.

He would then steer the conversation to sexually explicit topics and overwhelm the victim with sexual requests and questions, said the prosecution.

He would then arrange to meet the victim and take her to a secluded location, usually a toilet for the disabled at Yishun Park, where he would commit the offences.

THE VICTIMS

One victim was 11 years old and in Primary 5 at the time, while Syed was 20.

He was a stranger to the child when he sent her a message on Instagram in 2020.

He claimed he was between 16 and 17 and still in school. He asked her to be his girlfriend and met her for the first time at a staircase landing.

After chatting, Syed suddenly pulled the girl to him and kissed her on her lips.

The girl was shocked and tried to push him away. Syed kissed her again before leaving.

Later, the girl texted Syed, saying the encounter had made her feel uncomfortable, but he ignored this.

About a week after their first meeting, Syed asked the girl to meet him, and she went to the McDonald's outlet at Yishun Park.

Syed led her to a toilet for the disabled and locked the door before making advances on the girl.

The girl complied out of fear, seeing no way to escape. Syed raped her in the toilet. He raped her again a second time a few weeks later before the victim stopped communicating with him.

The girl was seen by a senior consultant with the Child Guidance Clinic and the Institute of Mental Health in August 2021, stating she had flashbacks of the incidents.

Syed also targeted a 14-year-old girl, who was in Secondary 3 while he was 21 in June 2021.

He lied that he was 17 when he conversed with the girl over an Omegle video call and asked her to be his girlfriend.

While at a staircase landing at a Housing Board block in Pasir Ris in June 2021, Syed asked the girl to perform a sex act on him.

She was uncomfortable but did not object, the court heard. After this, Syed sexually assaulted the girl.

On at least three other occasions, Syed sexually assaulted the girl.

She began to fear and distrust him, after discovering that he was 21 years old when she chanced upon his identity card. She was also very concerned that she might become pregnant and eventually stopped communicating with him.

In 2021, Syed met a 12-year-old girl on Omegle. He told the Primary 6 student that he liked her and claimed to be 14 years old.

After asking her to be his girlfriend and to keep their relationship secret, Syed asked her sexual questions.

On Jul 27, 2021, he texted the girl, asking for a "french kiss". The girl was hesitant, as she was late for school, had never kissed anyone before and did not know what a "french kiss" was.

However, she gave in as Syed persisted. They met at a bus stop near the girl's school that morning and went to a car park where Syed kissed the girl.

He then gave her his hoodie and walked her to school.

Throughout the rest of the day, Syed pressured the girl to meet him after school for sexual contact, but she avoided him as she felt uncomfortable.

Feeling unhappy, Syed pressured the girl to meet him the following day.

On Jul 28, 2021, the girl asked her friends to join her at a restaurant in Yishun as she knew Syed was on his way to meet her and she was afraid of him. She wanted an excuse to avoid him.

However, Syed found her before her friends could.

He took her to a toilet in Yishun Park where he molested her and exposed himself, frightening her.

He made the girl perform a sex act on him. When he saw her crying, he handed her a piece of tissue to wipe away her tears.

Syed tried initiating sex but the girl resisted, saying she was having her period.

Later that night, the girl told Syed that she wanted to end their relationship. He replied: "I want my hoodie."

Meanwhile, the girl's classmate had seen her enter the toilet with Syed and informed the victim's form teacher.

The victim's family was alerted and took her to file a police report.

Syed was arrested in August 2021 and police investigations uncovered his involvement with other victims.

Deputy Public Prosecutors David Menon and Jheong Siew Yin sought 14 to 16 years' jail for Syed, along with 24 strokes of the cane.

They said Syed is "a serial predator who targeted young girls, as young as 11 years old, by posing as a lovestruck teenager on the Internet".

Once acquainted with a victim, he "peppered them with sexually explicit conversations and overwhelmed them with sexual requests" before exploiting the victim for "his own sexual satisfaction", said the prosecutors.

The judge noted that the victims were significantly younger than Syed.

She allowed him to make two phone calls and speak with his family in the public gallery before being taken away.

For each count of aggravated statutory rape, he could have been jailed for between eight and 20 years and given at least 12 strokes of the cane.

For sexual penetration of a minor below 16, he could have been jailed for up to 10 years, fined, or both.