Man who posed as teenager online and sexually assaulted four girls gets jail, caning

SINGAPORE – A 25-year-old man who preyed on young girls on online platforms was sentenced to 14 years and eight months in jail and 24 strokes of the cane on Sept 29 after he admitted to sexually assaulting four victims.

Syed Muhammad Yusri Syed Yasser posed as a teenager to appear closer in age to the victims and asked them to be his girlfriend.

He then overwhelmed the victims with sexual requests, and took them to a secluded location, usually a toilet for people with disabilities in Yishun Park, where he assaulted them, prosecutors told the High Court.

After he was arrested in 2021 for raping a 12-year-old, police investigations revealed his involvement with three other victims.

Yusri was convicted on Aug 25 after he pleaded guilty to charges relating to three of the victims – two counts of aggravated statutory rape and one count of sexual penetration of a minor.

Five other charges, one for aggravated statutory rape and four for sexual penetration of a minor, were taken into consideration during sentencing.

He admitted that he messaged an 11-year-old on Instagram in 2020 and asked for her mobile phone number.

Yusri, who was then 20 years old, told her he was between 16 and 17 years old and still in school.

When they first met in person at a staircase landing near her home, he hugged and kissed her.

She later sent him a text message saying that the encounter made her feel uncomfortable, but he ignored her.

One week after their first meeting, he took the 11-year-old to the toilet in Yishun Park, where he raped her.

She agreed to meet him again a few weeks later, believing that he would not violate her again. But he again took her to the toilet and raped her.

After the second rape, she stopped all communication with him.

In June 2021, Yusri got to know a 14-year-old on Omegle, a chat website that randomly matches users and allows them to make video calls.

He was then 21 years old but lied that he was 17.

They met in person at a playground in Pasir Ris and played mobile games together.

After she agreed to meet him again, he took her to a staircase landing on the 14th floor of a block of flats in Pasir Ris and had unprotected sex with her.

He had sex with her on at least three other occasions.

The 14-year-old, who found out that he was 21 when she chanced upon his national service identity card, eventually ceased all communication with him.

Yusri also got to know a 12-year-old on Omegle in July 2021.

Over text messages on WhatsApp, he told her that he liked her and lied that he was 14 years old.

He repeatedly asked about the size of her breasts, whether she wanted to perform oral sex on him, and if she watched pornographic films.

On the morning of July 27 that year, he texted her and asked her for a “French kiss”.

She was hesitant as she was late for school and had never kissed anyone before, but he persisted.

They met that morning at a bus stop near her school, and he took her to a nearby carpark where he kissed her.

Throughout the day, he pressured her to meet him after school for sex, but she was uncomfortable with his overtures and avoided him.

The following day, after Yusri repeatedly messaged her, the 12-year-old told him she was at a restaurant in Yishun.

She asked her friends to join her so she would have an excuse to avoid him, but, before they arrived, he had tracked her down.

He then took her to the toilet in Yishun Park and raped her.

Later that night, she told him that she wanted to end their relationship.

Meanwhile, a classmate of the 12-year-old, who saw her entering the toilet with the man, informed a teacher, who notified the school counsellor. Her family was alerted, and her mother took her to file a police report.

Yusri was arrested on Aug 5 that year.