SINGAPORE - A teenage dishwasher, who had sex with two underage girls, was out on bail for drug abuse when he targeted a third minor.

The 18-year-old pleaded guilty in court on Wednesday (Feb 20) to consumption of methamphetamine or Ice, and three counts of having sexual intercourse with the girls.

Eight other charges, mainly for similar offences, will be taken into consideration during sentencing. The boy cannot be named due to a gag order to protect the girls' identities.

The first victim was his schoolmate. They got to know each other in January 2015.

The girl, who was 13 years old at the time, regarded him as her best friend, the court heard.

Sometime in early 2016, he started to pester the girl to have sex with him, but she rejected his advances.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Asoka Markandu said that on May 20 that year, the boy went to the girl's home after school, as she wanted to change her clothes before their meeting with some friends.

He went to her bedroom and they had sexual intercourse. The boy dropped out of school soon after and they stopped contacting each other.

The girl later told her schoolmates about her sexual encounter and one of them informed their teacher. The girl lodged a police report on Feb 23, 2017.

The boy befriended the second minor, who was then 15 years old, via Facebook in early 2017, and they had sex in his home on Feb 13 that year.

Her mother found out about it and alerted the police on May 15, 2017.

Court documents did not state what happened after the two police reports were made.

On Oct 31, 2017, officers from the Central Narcotics Bureau arrested the boy for suspected drug consumption and traces of Ice were found in his urine samples.

He was charged on Feb 22 last year and was out on bail when he targeted his third victim, then 13 years old.

The pair were in a relationship and had sexual intercourse four times in early July last year.

On July 8, the girl had a quarrel with her mother who allegedly knocked her daughter's head against a wall.

The girl, who complained of pain, was taken to KK Women's and Children's Hospital. She later told a staff nurse about her sexual encounters with her boyfriend and the police were notified.

On Wednesday, District Judge May Mesenas called for reports to assess the boy's suitability for probation and reformative training. Offenders sent to a reformative training centre follow a strict regimen that includes foot drills and counselling.

The boy is expected to be sentenced on March 12.