SINGAPORE — Targeting girls he saw on Instagram, he would send them messages asking if they needed a part-time job. For those who took his bait, he would get them to go to his home to perform sexual acts on them.

He did this from 2020 until the date of his arrest on March 1 last year.

At the High Court on Thursday (Dec 1), the 47-year-old man pleaded guilty to two charges of sexual penetration of a minor, a charge of grooming of a minor and one charge of attempted statutory rape. 

Six other charges will be taken into consideration for sentencing at a later date. 

The man and his victims cannot be named due to a court order to protect the victims' identities. 

FIRST VICTIM

On Aug 20 in 2020, the man messaged his first victim and introduced himself as “William”. They did not know each other at the time. 

She admitted that she needed cash after he asked her, because she had just run away from a welfare home for teenage girls who have behavioural problems. 

She had been placed there in 2019 after she was caught stealing and deemed to be in need of care and protection by social services. 

The man promised to pay her S$200 if she went to his house and allowed him to touch her body, to which she agreed. 

The next day at around 10am, he booked a Grab ride to fetch her from outside a mall to his home. 

Upon stepping into his house, she saw an iPad and four S$50 notes on a table. 

After positioning the victim and himself in front of the iPad which was recording at the time, the man started kissing and touching her. 

He then took off all her clothes while he remained fully clothed.

After around 10 minutes, the man took the girl to another room and proceeded to engage in sexual acts with her, even after the victim told him that she was 13 years old.

He then asked if he could have sex with her, to which she agreed, but he ended up not being able to do so and laid next to her. She fell asleep after that. 

After the victim woke up at around 12pm, the man gave her S$200 and told her not to tell anyone about what had happened. He also asked her to delete her chat history with him. 

He then booked a ride for her so she could go home.

However, he continued keeping in contact with her and persuading her to visit him again. 

Eventually, the victim needed money for her daily necessities and she decided to accept the man’s offer for cash. 

On Feb 23 last year, she took a Grab private-hire car ride to his place and on entering his house, she noticed the same iPad on the table.

The man tried to have sex with her again but failed again. 

She eventually left and he paid her S$200. 

SECOND VICTIM

Around the same time that he first contacted the first victim, the man also approached a second girl on Instagram in the same way.

When he asked her if she needed cash, she said she did. 

He found out that she was 15 years old and offered her a job that paid S$200. He said that it would involve cuddling and being his companion for two hours. 

The girl did not respond to his offer for some time, but he persisted and continued sending her messages to ask if she was keen to take up the job offer.

Sometime in September 2020, she accepted his offer.

On Sept 28, 2020 at around 1.50pm, the man booked a Grab ride for the girl. 

At his home, the girl noticed an iPad that was in recording mode. He then asked her to stand in front of it and undress completely. 

He started hugging and grabbing her and then took her to a room where he tried to have sex with her.

When she told him to stop, the man offered her S$100 instead of S$200, saying that the session was “not complete”. 

She took the money and left in a Grab car that the man had booked for her. 

THIRD VICTIM

The third girl he preyed on was 14 years old at the time. 

Around Dec 20, 2020, the man randomly messaged her on Instagram and lied to her that he had several part-time job options for her to be a waitress or kitchen helper, for instance.

He told her that the highest-paying job of S$200 was an “indecent one” involving him touching her body.

When she told him that she was 14 and interested only in the waitressing job, he continued to persuade her to meet him. 

Eventually, she relented and went to his home a month later. However, she left after he placed his arms on her waist. 

The man gave her S$30 instead of the S$200 he promised her. 

ASKS TO MASK HIS IDENTITY

Addressing the court on Thursday, the man asked for a gag order to be placed on his identity. 

Gag orders are imposed by the court to protect victims and witnesses. In the event that a victim can be identified through his or her relation with the accused, a gag order will also be placed on the identity of the accused. 

The man, who is divorced, said: “After I was arrested, my son went to a psychiatrist… He is very precious to me and we are always together. My concern is that if my identify were to be exposed, he would have to face the world by himself.”

He added that one can easily find out the identities of his victims by searching for his Instagram account and looking through his list of followers. 

However, Deputy Public Prosecutor Edwin Soh said that gag orders are to protect victims and witnesses, and not accused persons. 

He also said that the man’s account is private and the Instagram handles of the man and his victims were not of their real names. 

They are also not related, he added. 

Agreeing, Justice Pang Khang Chau said: “I sympathise with how the revelation of your identity may affect your son. Unfortunately, this is not within my power to take that into account as the law is quite clear in that regard. You will have to find ways to prepare him mentally.”

However, the man insisted that the identifies of the victim could be discovered through the use of certain software. 

In consideration of these, Justice Pang imposed a temporary gag order on the man’s identity. 

He also adjourned the sentencing to a later date.

Adult offenders convicted of sexually penetrating a minor under 14 can be jailed for up to 20 years, and fined or caned. 

Anyone convicted of sexual grooming of a minor below 16 can be jailed up to three years or fined, or both.

If convicted of attempted rape and sexual assault, the man could be jailed up to 20 years, and fined or caned.