Man, 25, sexually assaults girl, 14, & takes S$10 from her in Bedok, gets 13 years & 4 months’ jail & caning

A 25-year-old man in Singapore was sentenced to 13 years and four months’ jail and eight strokes of the cane for sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl with intellectual disabilities.

Muhammad Syafiq faced 12 charges, including sexual assault of a minor and charges under the Children and Young Persons Act.

He pleaded guilty to four charges and was sentenced on Aug. 3, Shin Min Daily News reported.

The remaining charges were taken into consideration during sentencing.

TikTok

At the time of the offence, Syafiq was working as a warehouse packer.

Between November and December 2024, Syafiq got to know the victim via TikTok.

In her profile, she mentioned she was studying at a special education school.

Syafiq was aware of her intellectual disability.

On Jan. 3, 2025, he persuaded the victim to meet him after repeatedly asking her to do so.

That was the second day of the school term.

At that time, the victim was practising travelling to and from school on her own.

Meet

Syafiq arranged to meet the victim at Bedok North MRT station.

He then brought her to a staircase of a block located along Bedok Reservoir Road.

As Syafiq was reportedly familiar with the area, he chose a location that did not have surveillance cameras.

After confirming that no one was around, he proceeded to molest the victim and digitally penetrate her.

The victim repeatedly resisted Syafiq’s actions due to severe pain, but he did not stop.

She eventually gave up struggling.

After the sexual assault, Syafiq then requested money from the victim.

He snatched her wallet from her hand and took out a S$10 note.

Syafiq then left the premises.

When the victim returned home, her father questioned her.

He then found out that she had been sexually assaulted.

Her school also learned of the incident and lodged a police report on Jan. 25, 2025.

Separately, during a missing person investigation in January 2025, the police discovered that a 15-year-old girl had engaged in sexual activities with Syafiq on three separate occasions when she ran away from home.

Offences

The prosecution sought 13-and-a-half years to 16-and-a-half years’ jail and eight strokes of the cane for Syafiq.

They stated that he had committed similar offences, such as sexual assault of a minor and molestation.

Syafiq was previously sentenced to 12 months of reformative training in 2021.

According to assessment reports, the victim was worried Syafiq would go to her school to find her.

She needed her grandfather to pick her up from school after classes.

The victim would occasionally have flashbacks of the incident and feared that the same thing might happen again.

She also did not dare to make male friends.

Syafiq was reportedly diagnosed with paedophilia and was assessed to have a high likelihood of reoffending.

His lawyers sought 12 years' jail and eight strokes of the cane.

They reportedly said he acknowledged his offences and pleaded guilty early.

They also argued that his guilty plea spared the two victims the trauma of testifying in court.