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NSF admitted to have sexually preyed on boy in church toilet

SINGAPORE — A 10-year-old boy was sexually exploited by a man whom he called “gor gor”, or older brother in Cantonese, while they were in church last year.

A full-time national serviceman pleaded guilty to sexually exploiting a boy he met at a student-care centre in church.

A full-time national serviceman pleaded guilty to sexually exploiting a boy he met at a student-care centre in church.

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SINGAPORE — A 10-year-old boy was sexually exploited by a man whom he called “gor gor”, or older brother in Cantonese, while they were in church last year.

The man, now 20 and a full-time national serviceman (NSF), pleaded guilty on Monday (March 25) to one count of sexually exploiting a child or a young person. Another similar charge will be taken into consideration for sentencing on April 1.

He and the church cannot be identified to protect his victim’s identity.

The boy first became acquainted with the young man in January 2017 through the student-care centre of the church. The man had been a volunteer at the church since November 2016 and was in charge of teaching children from Primary 1 to 4.

The two developed a close relationship after chatting on social media channel Instagram, to the point where the boy regarded the man as a sibling.  

The court heard that the man had asked the boy to call him “gorgor” and they would meet whenever the man volunteered at the centre.

In July last year, the two met at the student-care centre and the man asked the boy to accompany him to the male toilet on the second floor. The boy followed him into one of the cubicles without asking any questions.

In the cubicle, he asked the boy to remove his clothes. He refused at first but gave in later. The man went on to touch the boy’s chest and private parts.

Later that day, the boy told his mother what happened and a police report was made on Sept 7 last year.

Asking the judge to grant the man probation, the man’s lawyer David Nayar said that he acted in the “spur of the moment” and out of curiosity. He added that the man had not persisted or restrained the boy.

However, District Judge May Mesenas said that the volunteer had committed “a very serious offence”.

She told the man: “You were meant to help (the children) and you did this. You should do some reflection on what you’ve done.”

She ordered that he be remanded and called for reports to assess if he is suitable for probation or reformative training.

Reformative training is a regimented rehabilitation programme for offenders under the age of 21 who commit relatively serious crimes.

Unlike reformative training, probation does not stand as a criminal conviction on record. Being on probation allows the offender to continue with their work while serving their sentence.

For sexually exploiting a child or young person, the full-time national serviceman may be jailed up to five years and/ or fined up to S$10,000.

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