Man jailed after having sex with underage girlfriend and impregnating her twice

SINGAPORE - A sales adviser in his 20s had unprotected sex with his underage girlfriend and impregnated her twice.

The then 15-year-old did not know she was expecting their older child initially and found out about her pregnancy only when she gave birth to a baby girl at home on Feb 18 last year.

After this, the man was given a conditional warning for having sex with the minor and was ordered to not commit any offences for a year.

But he breached this condition and impregnated the girl again. She miscarried in July last year.

The man, 28, was jailed for 1½ years on Thursday (Dec 14) after he pleaded guilty earlier this month to two counts of having sex with the underage girl.

Two other similar offences involving the same teenager were taken into consideration in sentencing. The couple, who are no longer together, cannot be named due to a gag order to protect the girl's identity.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Kavita Uthrapathy said the pair got to know each other through mutual friends in December 2014 when the girl was just 14.

They had sex in his flat in mid-2015 and she gave birth to their daughter in a bathroom of her home the following year.

DPP Kavita said: "The victim's grandmother cut the baby's cord with a pair of scissors and summoned an ambulance... Being only 15 years old when she delivered their daughter, she suffered baby blues and had little knowledge of how to raise a child. By that time, she had quit studying... and obtained a job to try and support her new family."

The girl received treatment at KK Women's and Children's Hospital. As she was a minor, the hospital was obliged to lodge a police report about her case. The court heard that she later moved into the man's family flat and the couple made plans to get married.

The man was given the one-year conditional warning in lieu of prosecution on May 16 last year. The couple also obtained a special marriage licence, though they did not proceed with their plan to marry.

In June last year, they had unprotected sex again and the girl became pregnant for the second time. She miscarried about a month later.

The couple broke up shortly after they discovered this second pregnancy. The girl moved back to her own home, leaving her daughter behind. The child now lives with her father and paternal grandparents.

The man's lawyer, Ms Sherrie Han, who was assigned to the case under the Criminal Legal Aid Scheme, said the couple are no longer in contact with each other and the man is unaware of his former girlfriend's whereabouts.

For each count of having sex with a minor, the man could have been jailed for up to 10 years and fined.

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