Transgender man gets 10 years in jail for sexually abusing teenager

SINGAPORE — A 40-year-old transgender man was sentenced to 10 years’ jail by the Court of Appeal on Monday (Oct 10), after her acquittal for sexual assault charges was reversed last month by the apex court, which had found that both men and women can be prosecuted for the offence of sexual penetration of a minor. 

Zunika Ahmad, who is biologically a woman but identifies as a man, had abused her position of trust, even as her offences took place against a backdrop of a “genuine romantic relationship”, said Chief Justice (CJ) Sundaresh Menon, delivering the sentence of the three-judge Court of Appeal, which also included Judge of Appeals Andrew Phang and Tay Yong Kwang. 

Zunika, 40, who used a sex toy to penetrate a 13-year-old girl over a period of more than 20 months, had pleaded guilty to six charges of sexual penetration of a minor and one count of sexual exploitation of a young person. But in April, a High Court judge rejected her guilty plea, ruling that the particular section of the law that Zunika was charged under “does not cover women as offenders”.  

The prosecution appealed, and last month, the Court of Appeal, in a landmark ruling, agreed with the prosecution that the provision was “gender-neutral and capable of applying to a female offender”, and reinstated Zunika’s conviction, making her the first woman to be convicted under the provision.

Another 14 related charges were taken into consideration during sentencing.   

Urging the court to impose at least eight years’ jail, the prosecution cited the abuse of trust in this case. “(Zunika) abused her position of authority and exploited the naivety of a minor who was just 13 years’ old, when (she) propositioned her to engage in ‘sexual intercourse’ and other sexual acts,” said Second Solicitor-General Kwek Mean Luck.

But Zunika’s lawyer N Sudha Nair, who asked for a sentence of not more than three years’ jail, argued that Zunika was “not in (a) position of trust”, and “never deliberately misled” the victim on her gender.  

CJ Menon said the judges had considered the relationship between Zunika and the victim, who cannot be named to protect her identity, and that Zunika is “not a serial offender who targeted multiple victims” and is at a low risk of reoffending.

But Justice Phang noted there was an abuse of trust in this case, given that no parent will allow their children to be with someone they did not trust. 

Previously, the court heard that Zunika and her two “wives” and a stepdaughter lived two doors away from the victim, who was then 13 years old. The two families were close, and the victim and her two siblings would occasionally join Zunika’s family on outings and overseas trips. 

Zunika had concealed her gender by identifying herself with a man’s name, and managed to marry two Indonesian women without being exposed, by forbidding them from seeing or touching her genitalia, citing cultural beliefs. The two women did not know about Zunika’s gender until the sexual abuse case came to light. 

Zunika and the victim started developing feelings for each other after the victim’s mother left her family in December 2011. They later started having regular sexual intercourse, with Zunika using a strap-on dildo or vibrators. 

Zunika ended the affair in December 2013. Three months later, the victim told her family about them after a quarrel with Zunika, and a police report was made.  

Detailed written grounds of judgement will be released at a later date.