A man who got two underage girls pregnant, such that they ended up getting abortions at 13 and 15, respectively, was initially sentenced in April to six months of reformative training.

However, after an appeal was filed by the prosecution for the sentence to be increased, High Court Judge Vincent Hoong, who reviewed the case, disagreed with the original judge's assessment.

He increased the now-20-year-old man's sentence to nine years and ten months' jail and six strokes of the cane instead on Jul. 4.

Got two girls pregnant, and they had abortions

The man, who was not named in court documents, admitted he raped a 13-year-old girl sometime in December 2020.

He was 17 years old and out on probation at the time.

In mid-August 2022, the man, then 19, had sex with a 14-year-old girl.

Both victims were in a relationship with the man at the time of the offences.

Both of them also got pregnant and had to undergo abortions.

The man broke up with both victims afterwards.

On Jul. 4, 2022, the man was also part of a group that had gathered to injure a 16-year-old boy.

Started serving 6-month RTC sentence in April

The man was remanded on Mar. 14 and subsequently pleaded guilty to the above three charges.

Ten further charges were taken into consideration.

Apart from the rape offence, all the other offences were committed when the man was undergoing reformative training supervision for a previous offence.

The district judge called for a pre-sentencing report to assess his suitability to undergo reformative training, and he was found suitable for it.

The judge then gave him a six months' Reformative Training Centre (RTC) sentence, starting on the day of the sentence, Apr. 17.

High Court judge disagreed with district judge's assessment

However, the prosecution subsequently appealed for a revision of the man's sentence to between nine years and ten months’ imprisonment to 11 years and one month’s imprisonment, along with six strokes of the cane.

The appeal was made on the grounds that the original sentence "was wrong in principle as well as manifestly inadequate".

In his report, Hoong noted the district judge had decided that rehabilitation should take priority over deterrence and retribution, in determining the sentence.

"In his view, the offences were not so serious, nor the harm caused so severe, nor the [offender] so hardened and recalcitrant, that rehabilitation had been displaced as the primary sentencing consideration," Hoong wrote.

Hoong disagreed and opined that the judge "erred in principle in coming to this view".

"Consensual sex" not a mitigating factor given age gap, minors involved

Firstly, Hoong questioned the judge's assessment that the sexual acts between the man and the female victims were "consensual and in the context of a romantic relationship".

He said that for the rape offence, the man had the advantage of several years over her as he was 17 and she was 13, and their relationship had an "asymmetric nature".

Hoong also pointed out that the man had shown controlling behaviour towards her, such as asking her to cut off contact with her friends, and that the girl felt pressured to have sex with him.

He added that he had a similar observation for the second case, given that the man was 19 and the girl 14.

Hoong also disagreed with the judge's acceptance of the man's account that it was the second victim who "had started to initiate requests for sex with him".

Hoong said that the fact that a victim consented to sex is not a mitigating factor for rape cases, save for "exceptional" cases where the offender and victim are around the same age.

"This was plainly not such an exceptional case," Hoong added.

Caused trauma to two underage girls who had abortions

Hoong also noted that the judge accepted that the victims "suffered physically and emotionally" from the breakups and having to undergo abortions but questioned why the judge did not deem that this "had risen to the level of severe harm".

He pointed out that the judge did not agree with the prosecution that the offences left “indelible psychological scars” as the rape victim was able to move on from her relationship with the man.

In this respect, Hoong disagreed and felt that the two female victims had indeed suffered severe harm.

He observed that they had to undergo "invasive and traumatic abortion procedures" at the "tender ages of only 13 and 15 years".

The first victim "suffered physical pain" and was placed on two weeks of medical leave.

Meanwhile. the second victim was "greatly affected mentally" and continued to “feel like I am a murderer” when her victim impact statement was recorded more than one year later, Hoong said.

"Hardened and recalcitrant offender"

Lastly, Hoong disagreed with the district judge's assessment that it was "clear" from the pre-sentencing report that "[the man] had very favourable rehabilitative prospects".

Instead, he deemed the man was "a hardened and recalcitrant offender" whose "offending behaviour has escalated despite earlier stints of probation and reformative training".

Hoong pointed out that the man had committed the statutory rape offence when he was still on probation and the other offences when he was undergoing reformative training supervision for a previous offence.

Hoong also felt it was wrong for the judge to attach mitigating weight to the man's claim that he was "ignorant" that his sexual acts with the two victims were unlawful.

"It is well established that ignorance of the law is no excuse, whether to exculpate from criminal liability or to mitigate in sentencing," Hoong said.

Sentence increased

As such, Hoong concluded that deterrence and retribution should supersede rehabilitation as the dominant sentencing considerations for the case.

"In particular, against the backdrop of the [offender's] escalating pattern of criminal offending, specific deterrence is plainly called for in the present case," Hoong added.

He allowed the prosecution's appeal for a higher sentence as a result.

The man was sentenced to nine years and ten months' jail, and six strokes of the cane on Jul. 4.

Top image from Canva