Engineer gets jail, caning after molesting boy at pool complex, possessing 50 obscene films

SINGAPORE — After becoming acquainted with a boy aged about 11 whom he saw on a YouTube channel in 2017, Neo Cheok Leong stayed in touch with him then invited him to swim at the Toa Payoh Swimming Complex. There, he ushered the boy into a shower cubicle and molested him.

On Tuesday (March 29), the 47-year-old, who was working as an engineer at the time of his offences, was sentenced to 23 months and four weeks’ jail and three strokes of the cane.

He pleaded guilty to a single charge of outrage of modesty and nine other charges related to making obscene films, mostly involving boys whose identities are not known.

The victim of the swimming pool complex molestation cannot be named due to a court order to protect his identity.

Forty-two other charges of a similar nature were taken into consideration for the man’s sentencing.

Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) V Jesudevan told the court that Neo came to know of the boy after watching him perform on YouTube sometime in 2017. The nature of the boy's performance was not disclosed in court documents.

The prosecution said that it was some months later that both exchanged contact numbers with each other.

DPP Jesudevan added that Neo befriended the boy through their mutual appreciation for music.

On Sept 13 that year, Neo met the boy and a third individual, whose name was also not given in court documents, and invited them to go for a swim at the Toa Payoh Swimming Complex.

They agreed, swam until around 6.30pm and then went to the male toilet where Neo “offered to shower in the same cubicle” as the victim. It was not stated where the third individual was at this time.

The boy did not object when he was ushered into a cubicle by Neo, because the shower room was crowded at the time.

When Neo closed the door, the boy told the man that he could shower on his own, but Neo reassured him that he would not do anything to him.

Believing Neo, the boy undressed himself, and Neo followed suit.

However, while the boy was showering with his back turned to Neo, the man took the opportunity to molest the boy.

Although it was not stated if the boy reported this incident to the authorities or his parents, the law caught up with Neo when he tried to take a photo of a 50-year-old man showering at the HomeTeamNS Sembawang clubhouse on Aug 18 in 2018.

When the police interviewed Neo, he admitted to his actions and his phone was sent for a forensic examination, which uncovered at least 50 obscene recordings he had made between 2017 and 2018, , mostly of young boys.

A majority of the subjects were boys that Neo did not know personally, and they were recorded in the male toilets at various locations in Singapore such as Siloso Beach in Sentosa and the Bukit Batok and Clementi swimming complexes.

Court documents showed that one of the recordings was made in Japan and it featured “a man and three boys” whose buttocks were exposed.

For outraging the modesty of the swimming complex victim, Neo could have been jailed for up to five years, fined or caned, or any combination of these punishments.

For each charge of making an obscene film, Neo could have been jailed for up to two years or fined up to S$40,000.