AT THE COURTS
Two plead guilty over barbecue pit incident in which boy was stripped
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
A teenager approached a group of five that was celebrating a birthday at a barbecue pit to say hello.
But they turned on him, forcing him to strip and also took videos of the incident, which happened on March 4 last year. One video was circulated online.
Two male members - a 16-year-old, who had been a student at the time of the offence, and a 20-year-old, who had been unemployed - pleaded guilty in court yesterday to using criminal force with the intention to outrage modesty.
The victim and offenders cannot be named under the Children and Young Persons Act to protect those below 18. Probation suitability reports were called for the two offenders over their involvement.
Another 16-year-old boy in the group, who came up with the idea to pull down the victim's trousers, is a co-accused in this case.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Huo Jiongrui told the court that the victim - then a 14-year-old student - had passed by the pit near Yishun Ring Road on his e-scooter.
Court documents do not state how the victim knew the group, which had included a 14-year-old girl and an unidentified male.
The victim was restrained and pulled to the ground. Two of the boys held on to his arms and restrained his legs. Another boy then removed the victim's trousers and underwear. The victim's appeals to stop were ignored.
The girl recorded a video using her mobile phone. Another video was recorded as two of the aggressors removed his shirt.
The victim, who was fully naked by then, escaped and hid nearby.
DPP Huo said: "The accused persons laughed at the victim and later returned the victim his clothes."
The girl then forwarded the videos to the others.
The victim asked them to delete the videos but he was assured that the videos would not be circulated.
A few days later, a staff member from the victim's school found one of the videos on social media. A police report was made.
In court, the offenders were repentant. They will return to court on Jan 28 for sentencing.
