S'pore man, 24, rapes 13-year-old girl. Girlfriend, 29, joined in after finding out to 'retake control' of relationship.

A man had engaged in sexual acts with a 13-year-old girl despite knowing that it was illegal, and when his then-girlfriend found out about it, she chose to facilitate a threesome involving the victim in order to "retake control" of her relationship.

According to CNA, 24-year-old Markkus Mohsen Lim pleaded guilty to two counts of rape in court on Jan. 20, while his then-girlfriend, 29-year-old Marija Beatriz Gargarita Tuble, pleaded guilty to one count of abetting rape.

The remaining charges were taken into consideration during sentencing.

Lim was sentenced to 10 years' jail and 12 strokes of the cane.

Beatriz was sentenced to eight years and nine months' jail, of which three months is in lieu of caning, as women cannot be caned.

The girl has since passed on, though no details of her death were provided.

Met on Omegle

Court documents seen by Mothership revealed that at the time of the offences, Lim was serving his National Service with the Singapore Police Force.

Beatriz, who is Filipino and a Singapore permanent resident, was a product executive.

The two were in a relationship then.

In May 2023, Lim first met the victim on Omegle, a free, anonymous online chat service that the judge noted had been associated with sexual and paedophilic content — the platform was later shut down in 2023.

The pair subsequently moved their conversation to Telegram.

When Lim began interacting with the victim, she informed him that she was 13-years-old, which meant Lim was aware that engaging in any sexual activity with her would be illegal.

Despite this, he formed the intention to do so and was also willing to pay her for sex.

He also saved her contact in his phone with the number "13" in her name to identify her, referencing her age.

Lim proceeded to engage her in sexually explicit conversations, including requesting and receiving nude photographs of her, as well as videos of her in various stages of undress.

He also sent photographs of his private parts to the victim.

Lim subsequently arranged to meet her for sex in June 2023, and the pair did so at a staircase landing.

Ex-girlfriend wanted to "retake control" by having a threesome

The following day, Beatriz discovered Lim's messages with the victim and learnt that Lim had cheated on her.

Despite knowing the victim's age, Beatriz wanted to have sex with the victim together with Lim, instead of ending her relationship with him.

She believed it would help her "retake control" of her relationship with Lim and lessen the emotional impact of his infidelity.

In mid-June 2023, the couple arranged for the victim to be taken to Beatriz's home via a private-hire vehicle.

At home, the three engaged in various sexual acts, which Beatriz recorded in at least six videos.

She later sent those videos to the victim.

Following the incident, the couple attempted to contact the victim to engage in further sexual activity with her, but she blocked them the day after the threesome.

Deleted the videos

In July 2023, the victim's mother lodged a police report, stating that her daughter had been raped.

When police visited Beatriz’s apartment in August 2023, she deleted the videos from her phone before answering the door.

"Took advantage" of the victim

The prosecution sought 10 years' jail and 12 strokes of the cane for Lim, and eight-and-a-half years' jail for Beatriz, with three months in lieu of caning.

"Instead of protecting her, they took advantage of her in pursuit of their own sexual pleasure," the prosecution said, describing the offences as "grave and heinous".

It also noted that Lim was willing to pay the victim for her sexual services, though he ultimately did not, and had also exposed her to the risk of unwanted pregnancy.

Both Lim and Beatriz "remorseful"

According to CNA, during mitigation, the ex-couple's defence lawyer sought lighter sentences for both of them, stating that they were remorseful.

Beatriz, who had been remanded and appeared via video-link, said she was "truly sorry" and added that she had been feeling guilt, shame and regret.

She also apologised to her family and expressed concern for her ageing parents, particularly her father, who is a diabetic stroke patient.

Similarly, Lim said he regretted his actions, describing them as "out of character and against [his] morals". He pleaded for leniency, citing the impact of his actions on his elderly parents.

In response, the judge acknowledged their remorse but said the harm had already been done.

She said she found no substantive mitigating factors apart from the fact that the ex-couple pleaded guilty, and said the personal hardships faced by their families could not reduce the severity of the sentence.

The judge also noted that Lim’s sentence warranted an increase as he had groomed the victim and committed multiple acts against her, and that Beatriz’s role in abetting the offence out of "emotional insecurities" was not a mitigating factor.

She allowed Lim to begin his jail term a month later so he could spend Chinese New Year with his parents.

Top photos via Canva and Mothership