Poly student gets probation for insulting girlfriend's modesty
By Kimberly Spykerman | Posted: 26 November 2012 1238 hrs
SINGAPORE: A 17-year-old polytechnic student was on Monday sentenced to 21 months probation, for insulting a teenage girl's modesty and other charges.
These include sexual penetration of a minor, possession of obscene films, and criminal intimidation.
He will also have to perform 150 hours of community service, stay indoors between 10:00pm and 6:00am, and have his internet usage supervised by both a probation officer and his parents.
The court heard that the boy made the girl perform oral sex on him after coming across pornographic material on the internet.
He then filmed her doing so without her knowledge and uploaded the video on a US-based pornographic website, going as far as to include the girl's full name and telephone number.
The video was circulated on other pornographic websites, and the girl began receiving phone calls and text messages from strangers who harassed her about the video.
The offences were committed between April 2009 and August 2011.
Both the accused and the victim cannot be named to protect the girl's identity.
The girl was only 13 when the boy first had sex with her, and according to court documents, the pair were schoolmates who were in a relationship.
Things soured when he asked the girl to perform oral sex on him on several occasions and she refused.
He threatened to tell people that they had been having sex, and she felt pressured into agreeing.
The couple later broke up when the girl found out about the uploaded video.
She told a teacher about the video when she found she was still being harassed by strangers.
The teacher then informed the girl's mother, who took her to lodge a police report.
In addition to the charges involving the girl, the boy pleaded guilty to stealing two bicycles in May this year.
In delivering the sentence, District Judge Shaifuddin Saruwan noted that until the commission of the offences, the boy was well-behaved and had performed satisfactorily at school.
He said the sexually explicit material the boy found on the internet and lack of parental guidance and counselling led him to have a distorted view of relationships.
Mr Shaifuddin added that while the boy's offences were serious, he could still be suitable for probation instead of reformative training - given his previously unblemished record, low to moderate risk of re-offending, and parental support.
The judge also ordered that the boy be electronically-tagged for the first four months of his probation, and be supervised for the remaining 17 months.
The boy's case will be reviewed in four months time.
- CNA/ck
