At least 12 months’ reformative training for man who impregnated two underage girls, assaulted teen girlfriend

• A 21-year-old man had admitted to having underage sex and impregnating two girls aged 12 and 15
• He was 17 when he committed the first offence of underage sex 
• He also admitted to assaulting an 18-year-old whom he was dating 

SINGAPORE — A 21-year-old man was sentenced on Friday (Nov 19) to at least 12 months' detention in a reformative training centre for having underage sex with two girls aged 12 and 15, both of whom got pregnant.

The Singaporean also admitted to dating and impregnating a 18-year-old whom he later assaulted after a dispute outside his flat. 

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

The accused was 17 years old when he committed the first offence of underage sex.

Offenders are given a minimum period on the programme, subject to how they respond to the rehabilitation. It is a harsher punishment than probation, which allows young offenders to continue with their education or employment while serving their sentences.

The man cannot be named as he committed some of the offences when he was under 18 years old. The Children and Young Persons Act bans the publication of identities of accused persons of that age.

His victims also cannot be named due to a court order to protect their identities.

He had pleaded guilty in July to four charges of sexual penetration of a minor under 16 and one charge of voluntarily causing hurt.

Another 17 similar charges, including criminal intimidation, were taken into consideration during sentencing.

ABOUT THE CASE

The court heard that the young man met the youngest girl through social media channel Instagram in January 2019, when he was 19.

She initiated contact with him and they later began chatting on WhatsApp. He asked her how old she was and she replied that she was 12 years old.

That same month, she went over to his house and they had unprotected sex in his bedroom. Deputy Public Prosecutor Theong Li Han told the court that the youth did not use a condom.

The authorities soon began investigating him for underage sex, although court documents did not state how this came about.

The pair met again at a public housing block near her home and had unprotected sex at a staircase landing. 

Ten weeks after this, the girl found out that she was pregnant.

She had an abortion in May 2019 and a paternity test showed that the youth was almost certainly the father.

He enlisted for National Service that same month but continued seeing the girl on weekends when he booked out from camp, visiting her at a rental flat where she was living with her mother.

In June 2019, when sleeping over there, he initiated sex and did not wear a condom again.

As for the other two victims, he met the 15-year-old girl through mutual friends in 2017 when he was 17. They dated from January to August that year.

They had sex about twice or thrice a month until they broke up. She found out that she was pregnant with his child in early 2018 and is now raising the child.

The police received a report of underage pregnancy from the National University Hospital in March 2018.

In relation to the oldest girl, he dated her from August 2019 to September last year when she was aged 18.

In January last year, the couple fought outside his flat when he did not want her to leave. He then slapped her and kicked her.

She discovered she was pregnant with his child in March last year and gave birth in July.