SINGAPORE: A man befriended a 12-year-old boy who lived with his mother and began bonding over badminton sessions and video games.
However, he later molested the boy during a sleepover and asked if he wanted a sex act.
After the boy lodged a police report, the police found photographs of the boy sleeping in the man's phone, along with photos of the boy's private parts.
Neo Shenghua, Kevin, now 41, claimed trial to three charges of outraging the boy's modesty, insulting his modesty and voyeurism.
He was convicted of all three charges on Monday (Feb 20), after conducting his own defence.
According to the prosecution, Neo, a taekwondo coach, got to know the victim in mid-2020 through playing badminton near the victim's home.
They became friends and they would "hang out" after playing badminton.
The boy lived with his mother, a food delivery rider, and an unrelated tenant. His father did not live with them, and the boy did not have a good relationship with his mother.
In October 2020, the victim met Neo after finishing his Primary School Leaving Examinations.
While walking home to retrieve a badminton racquet, Neo suddenly asked the victim if he wanted a sex act.
The victim immediately said no and testified in court that he was "weirded out" by this question as it seemed "gay".
He later told himself that Neo was just joking and continued allowing Neo to sleep over at his place.
On the morning of Oct 13, 2020, the victim was woken up by Neo molesting him during a sleepover.
Neo remarked on the victim's body parts, saying it was "funny" and the victim was shocked.
When the victim's mother returned home with food, the victim asked Neo why he had done that, and Neo said it was "for fun".
VICTIM TOLD HIS FRIEND
The victim did not tell his mother what happened at first, and instead sent messages to his friend and neighbour about what happened.
He later told his friend that he felt like telling his mother about what happened, and reported it to the police.
His friend initially thought it was a joke as he thought Neo was a "nice person" and advised the victim not to call the police yet or rush the matter until there was more certainty.
However, when the friend spoke to the victim in person and saw that the victim appeared scared and had red eyes, he realised the victim was telling the truth.
The victim eventually lodged a police report on the advice of his counsellor.
Neo was arrested and his mobile phone seized. A total of 39 obscene photos and one obscene video were found in his phone.
Of these, five were of the victim sleeping. Four of the sleeping photos captured the boy's exposed private parts.
In his police statement, Neo admitted pulling down the boy's pants to take the photos for "memories' sake".
When asked if he had taken them for his own fantasy, he said "probably" and that it was a "sudden impulse".
ACCUSED DEFENDS HIMSELF
Neo conducted his own defence. He denied using his finger to molest the boy and claimed he had used a pillow instead.
He said he did so as the boy's private parts were "moving" and that he had thrown the pillow aside when the boy woke up suddenly.
When the prosecutor said that there was no reason for him to react this way if his actions were innocuous, Neo said that he is easily scared by jump scares even when he watches horror movies.
He also suggested that the boy may have been dreaming.
"Like some of the movies, you see like Inception, the people sleep, but actually they're asleep for only one hour, but in the dream they're moving around like one week or something, so what he could have seen in that short time, might have been a very long dream for him ... could be long enough for him to mistake it as true," he said.
He claimed that he had asked the boy about the sex act as part of an inside joke.
He had previously shown the boy a "comedic" YouTube video where a man receiving a massage had a "happy ending", and there was a dance involved.
He said they both would ask each other if they wanted sex acts before doing the dance.
Neo also claimed that he had taken the photos of the boy to show him that he was keeping his promise not to touch him again, as he had the chance to touch him but did not.
He said he wound up not showing the boy the photos, as he knew that if he did, their friendship would be over.
"I really don't want to lose a friend," he said. "I don't have many friends."
VICTIM A CANDID WITNESS: JUDGE
The judge found that the victim was a straightforward and candid witness who could not believe that his friend Neo would do this to him.
The boy's texts to his neighbour also added credence to his account and captured his emotional response.
She rejected Neo's argument that the victim had mistaken a pillow for Neo's finger.
She said that the video Neo showed to the boy, while containing comedic elements, also contained overtly sexualised content.
"The fact that a (then) 39-year-old man would show such a video to a 12-year-old boy is to me telling of that man's intentions, despite the accused's attempts to portray himself as a childish person at ... the level of a 12-year-old boy," said the judge.
"There's clearly nothing innocent about ... his intentions."
He will return to court for mitigation and sentencing next month.
He faces another four charges which will be dealt with separately.
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/taekwondo-coach-molest-boy-sleepover-inside-joke-3292746
