OVER a period of 16 months, a full-time national serviceman trailed girls as young as nine into lifts, threatened them with a penknife, then forced them to secluded spots where he sexually assaulted them.

On Friday, Huang Shiyou, 22, paid a heavy price for his crime spree in the eastern part of Singapore between April 2007 and July last year.

The cleancut young man was jailed for 32 years and ordered to be caned the maximum 24 strokes after he pleaded guilty to five charges - for aggravated molest, sexual assault and attempted rape - involving two of his nine victims, a nine-year-old primary school pupil and a 14-year-old secondary school student.

His lawyer, Mr Chia Kok Seng portrayed his client as a good person who crumbled under depression from a failed relationship and had problems adjusting to life in the army.

But Justice Chan Seng Onn said a long deterrent sentence was justified to protect the public against serial sex offenders.

Said the judge: 'Words cannot sufficiently describe the extent of the trauma, suffering and distress that you have caused to the very young victims of the horrendous sexual crimes.'

Justice Chan agreed with Deputy Public Prosecutor Shahla Iqbal that Huang had deliberately and systematically targetted young victims who were alone and had used a penknife to frighten them into submission.

In passing sentence, the judge took into consideration another nine charges involving seven other victims aged nine to 13.