On Friday, Huang Shiyou, 22, paid the price for his crime spree around his Tampines neighbourhood between April 2007 and July last year: 32 years' jail and 24 strokes of the cane.

He had 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.

Yesterday, his lawyer, Mr Chia Kok Seng, acknowledged the severity of the offences, but pleaded for leniency. He 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 was unmoved, and 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 and used a penknife to frighten them into submission.

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

Huang, who has no criminal history, stared blankly into space when he heard his sentence. With two-thirds remission for good behaviour, he will be in jail until he is 43.

Read the full story in Saturday's edition of The Straits Times.