S'porean man, 25, acts as a teen to date & rape girl, then 13, gets 11 years' jail & 10 strokes of cane

A 25-year-old Singaporean man was sentenced to 11 years' jail and 10 strokes of the cane on Feb. 10 after he raped a girl, who was 13 years old at the time of the offence.

According to CNA, the man had acted as a teenager who knowingly matched with young girls online via Telegram to engage in sex acts with them.

His offences occurred between August 2023 and September 2024.

The man cannot be identified due to gag orders protecting the identities of two victims.

Lied about his age

In August 2023, when he was 22, the offender knowingly became acquainted with the 13-year-old girl after matching with her on a Telegram bot.

He pretended to be 15 on his profile, which led to the girl to question his age as he appeared older in his photographs.

The man insisted that he was 15, saying it was "just in his genes" that he looked older.

The girl, initially cautious, continued chatting with him as she found him funny and engaging.

He later brought up sexual acts with her and suggested physical meetings between August and September 2023.

Frequent sex acts at staircase landing

Upon their first meeting, he lied again about his age when questioned.

The court heard that the victim would not have agreed to any sexual activity had she known his true age, as she would have been wary because of the age difference.

He later took her to a staircase landing at a multi-storey car park, and asked her to perform sex acts on him.

They became a couple afterwards, meeting at the same location weekly between September and November 2023 to engage in sexual acts, with the girl wearing her school uniform.

In January 2024, he asked her to have sex with him.

She was uncomfortable at first, but eventually agreed after he kept persuading her.

He then raped her at the staircase landing.

Targeted 12-year-old girl

The couple continued to engage in sexual acts until September 2024, when they broke up.

During their relationship, he had gotten to know another girl, then 12, in January 2024 via a Telegram bot and pretended to be 16.

He also started discussing sexual topics, asked her if she was willing to be "friends with benefits" and asked her for naked photos.

The man also sent her inappropriate videos of himself.

In February 2024, he asked to meet her for a sex act.

They went to a staircase landing on the top floor of a building, where he asked her to perform a sex act on him.

However, they went separate ways after the girl refused him.

Arrested after lewd messages found

A police report was made in February 2024 after the 12-year-old girl's form teacher conducted a spot check on her phone and discovered the man's inappropriate messages.

In September 2024, the 13-year-old girl's brother similarly found such messages in her phone.

The girl and her family lodged a police report on the same day.

The man was subsequently arrested and remanded.

Pleaded guilty to four charges

The man pleaded guilty to two counts of statutory rape, one count of sexual grooming of a minor, and one count of sexual penetration of a minor.

Another 14 charges were taken into consideration for sentencing.

The prosecution sought at least 11 years' jail and 10 strokes of the cane, citing the offender's use of deception and the risk of the first girl contracting sexually-transmitted diseases.

The man was also previously convicted of sexual offences, and was previously given probation and community service for molestation and insulting the modesty of female victims aged 10 and 13.

Top photos via Canva