Two men jailed for underage sex with 13-year-old
SINGAPORE — Two men who had sex with a then 13-year-old secondary school student after chatting her up on mobile applications like WeChat and Meow Chat were sentenced to jail on Monday (July 2).
Abdul Rashid Sapuan, 26, who was a police national serviceman attached to the Special Operations Command was sentenced to 15 months, while Rosidi Ayop Jr Flora, a 21-year-old Filipino permanent resident who worked as a bellboy was sentenced to 13 months.
Rosidi who is currently serving his National Service got the lighter sentence as he was under 21 years old when he committed the offence.
Court documents stated that the girl – now a 14-year-old who cannot be named due to a gag order – has an IQ score of 87, which suggested that she was functioning within the low average range of intelligence.
The victim’s mother, a 44-year-old receptionist, lodged a police report on Oct 10, 2016 after discovering sexually-charged conversations between her daughter and unknown men on the girl’s mobile phone.
In those conversations, naked photographs were exchanged. The girl also asked if she could be the men’s girlfriend before arranging to meet them at her house so that they can have sex while her mother was at work.
The girl first had sex with Rashid after getting acquainted with him sometime in late September 2016 through WeChat.
The victim asked him via WhatsApp on Sept 24, 2016 if she could be his girlfriend before asking him if he wanted to have sex with her. Rashid agreed about the sex, but told her to wait until she finished her O Level examinations before they talk about getting into a relationship.
More than a week later on Oct 7, 2016, the girl had sex with Rosidi – an acquaintance he met through Meow Chat in February that year.
Among the two men, other charges including procuring the commission of an indecent act by a child by asking her to send him a nude photograph as well as touching the minor inappropriately, were taken into consideration during their sentencing.
For sexually penetrating a minor who is under 14 years old – with or without her consent – the men could have been sentenced to a jail term of up to 20 years, and could also be liable to a fine or to caning.
TODAY understands there is a third man who has been charged with having sex with the same victim. His case will be heard in court on July 23.
