Woman gets jail for masturbating daughter's intellectually disabled friend after getting him to stay over

SINGAPORE — Knowing that a 15-year-old boy with low IQ liked her daughter, a 44-year-old woman persuaded him to stay over in their flat and showed him how to kiss.

After watching the boy kiss her daughter, the woman told him that he could not do that because her daughter was "very fresh". She later took advantage of the boy on two occasions as he slept, masturbating him even though he was uncomfortable.

The woman, who is now 45, was given a year's jail on Wednesday (March 17) after pleading guilty to two charges of committing an indecent act with a young person. She cannot be named due to gag orders protecting the identity of the boy. 

The court heard that the accused had a 13-year-old daughter who became good friends with the victim, who had a low IQ of 56. They attended the same school for those with mild intellectual disability and mild autism.

The accused got to know the victim through her daughter and began addressing him as "dear" in March last year and considered him her godson.

After the March school holidays, she started to invite the boy over to her home. The boy, wanting to meet the accused's daughter, accepted the invitation.

He would go over during the day and leave at night, doing homework and playing games in the flat. The victim would go on top of the accused's daughter on a bed, with the accused watching.

When he kissed the teenage girl's mouth, the accused told him that he could not do that.

The accused began persuading the boy's mother to let him stay over, saying that she would take care of him and monitor him. His mother gave the green light, but said that the boy had to sleep separately and with no physical interaction.

The boy stayed over at the accused's home for a week, sleeping between the older woman and her daughter. The accused would hug and kiss the boy on the mouth. When she saw that he wanted to kiss her daughter, she said that she would have to show him how and said that it could only be done at home and not outside.

Past midnight on March 23 and 26 last year, the accused committed indecent acts against the boy by masturbating him. Despite the victim feeling uncomfortable and telling her this, the woman persisted.

The offences were uncovered when the boy told social workers what happened.

'EXPLOITED HIS LIKING FOR HER DAUGHTER'

The prosecution asked for a year and two months' jail for the accused, saying that the degree of exploitation was significant, with progressive physical contact.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Hidayat Amir said that she exploited the victim's liking for her daughter and used it to her advantage.

The victim was especially vulnerable, with mild intellectual disability, and was the schoolmate of the accused's daughter, he added.

There was also an element of premeditation, since the woman had planned for the boy to stay over, persuading his mother to give permission, and successfully hid him from her own husband.

The abuse of trust was also significant because the boy's mother had placed her trust in the accused and asked for clear boundaries that the woman breached.

The accused, who was not represented by a lawyer, asked for leniency and if she could be fined instead of going to jail. She said that both her parents had disabilities and her daughter is a special needs child.

She also said that her daughter needs to be taken to school on most days, dressed up and have her hair tied.

"And my husband is also quite old, and sometimes needs to go to the hospital, so most of the time, I need to be around with my parents and my husband," she said.

She said that her husband was not in court because he was working but is aware of her court case.

"Can it be a fine instead of prison, because of my daughter, (who) needs me a lot, she cannot go without a mother," the woman asked. "My husband is not the real father of her, so most of the time, I'm the one taking care of her... I don't wish to be inside the prison; it's my first time offending and I won't commit again."

The judge told her that her offences warranted a jail term and were very serious. She had lulled the boy into a false belief that her actions were meant to coach him into winning her daughter's affection, and these offences were not isolated but committed a few days apart, the judge added.

The woman continued to plead with the judge after being sentenced, saying that she did not know when her husband would "go" or die, and that she did not want her daughter to "suffer" in a girls' home while she is "suffering" in jail.

Her daughter cried loudly in court while talking to her mother in court, and waited for her grandmother to arrive.

For committing an indecent act with a young person, the accused could have been jailed for up to five years or fined up to S$10,000, or both. CNA

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