Youth admits that he molested family friends’ daughter when he was around 14
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The offences came to light in 2022 when the teenager came clean to his parents about what he had done.
PHOTO: ST FILE
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SINGAPORE – A youth has admitted in court that he molested his family friends’ daughter on two occasions in 2021, when he was around 14 years old.
The offences involving the girl, who was then around 10 years old, came to light in December 2022 when he admitted to his parents what he had done.
On June 16, the offender, who is now 18, pleaded guilty to two counts of molestation.
He cannot be named owing to a gag order to protect the identity of the girl, identified in court documents as V1.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Sean Teh told the court that the family members of the offender and the victim were close to one another prior to December 2022.
In 2021, the offender, V1 and several of his friends were in his room when he came up with an activity called “power game”.
As part of the game, he asked his friends to wait outside the room and come in one by one to meet him.
He molested V1 when she entered the room.
On another occasion in 2021, the offender and V1 were alone in his room when he told her to sit on his bed.
He molested her when she complied. She did not say anything during her ordeal as she did not know what to do, said the prosecutor.
The offender later told V1 to refrain from telling their parents about the incident.
But on Dec 7, 2022, while he was with his parents, he told them that he had something to share with them.
DPP Teh said: “He told them that he had touched V1 over her private parts and broke down crying.
“The accused told his parents about this because V1 insisted, over text messages to the accused, that he tell his parents about what he had done to her.”
That same evening, the couple contacted V1’s parents and asked to meet them.
The offender and his parents told V1’s parents about the acts of molestation and apologised.
V1’s parents later noticed behavioural changes in their daughter, including trouble sleeping.
The court heard that she would also ask them what would happen if she saw the offender’s family again.
The girl finally lodged a police report in January 2023.
“V1 told the police that when the accused touched her, she felt uncomfortable and weird, and, at that point in time, she felt like kicking him and running away,” said DPP Teh.
The offender was charged in 2024.
On June 16, the court called for a report to assess his suitability for a probation.
He will be sentenced in August.
Shaffiq Alkhatib is The Straits Times’ court correspondent, covering mainly criminal cases heard at the State Courts.
