19-year-old man admits to sexually assaulting 14-year-old while she was drunk

SINGAPORE — After helping a drunk 14-year-old girl out of her pants as she had vomited on them, Ason Low Yu Xuan felt aroused by the sight of her partially undressed and went on to sexually assault her. 

Low, who is now 19, pleaded guilty on Tuesday (Nov 15) to one charge of sexual penetration of a minor and four unrelated charges. Four other charges were taken into consideration. 

According to court documents, he was serving National Service at the time. 

WHAT HAPPENED

On Sept 21, 2021, Low was invited to have drinks at a 16-year-old boy's home along with three other teenagers — a 17-year-old boy, a 17-year-old girl and the victim.

The teenagers cannot be named since they were under the age of 18 at the time of offence and are therefore covered by the Children and Young Persons Act. 

When the victim arrived at the house at around 5pm, she joined the rest of the group who were in the bedroom. 

According to court documents, the victim and Low were the only ones in the group who did not know each other. 

After downing an alcoholic drink Low mixed for her, the victim started to feel tipsy and unwell. 

She went to the toilet and vomited several times, soiling her clothes in the process. She then lay down on the floor. 

At this point, Low went into the toilet to check on her. After realising that she had dirtied her clothes, he removed her pants. 

As the victim thought he was trying to help her clean up, she did not tell him to stop. 

However, at the sight of her partially unclothed, Low started to feel aroused. 

He removed her undergarments and sexually assaulted her with his finger, only stopping after the victim objected the second time.  

Low then asked the teenager who lived in the house for a fresh set of clothes and helped the victim to change.

He also told the 17-year-old boy that he had sexually assaulted the victim in his toilet. 

Between 6pm and 7pm the same day, the group left the house. The victim was still unconscious at the time, so Low and the 17-year-old boy had to carry the victim down the stairs. 

But at one point, the boy gave up and dropped her. 

Low then grabbed hold of her arms and dragged her down half a flight of stairs before letting go, leaving her to slide down the remaining steps. 

Finding it amusing, the 17-year-old girl took a video of what happened. 

Eventually, they called the victim's family and her grandparents took her home. 

About two months later on Nov 20, 2021, the 17-year-old boy made several posts about the incident on Instagram using the account handle “trendsomemore”. 

He uploaded the video the girl had recorded and also stated that Low had sexually assaulted the victim. 

Two days later, Low was persuaded by the 17-year-old boy to make a public apology on Instagram Live. By then, the matter had gained traction on social media. 

According to court documents, several local social media influencers joined the Instagram Live as well. 

After being questioned by them, Low admitted to sexually assaulting the victim. 

The incident then went viral on various social media platforms and police reports were lodged.

Low was arrested on Nov 23, 2021. 

REPORTS CALLED 

District Judge Kessler Soh called for reformative training and probation reports to assess Low's suitability for both. 

Reformative training is a harsher punishment than probation, which allows young offenders to continue with their education or employment while serving their sentences.

Low will return to court on Jan 12 for sentencing. 

For sexually penetrating a minor, he could be jailed up to 10 years or fined, or punished with both.