S'pore 'religious influencer' jailed 27 years for sexually abusing 2 boys

A "religious influencer" who sexually abused two young boys at mosque premises was sentenced to 27 years 10 months' jail and 24 strokes of the cane, CNA reported.

The victims are brothers whose parents were absent from their lives.

After becoming a father figure to them, the man raped the younger boy at least 10 times when the boy was six to eight years old. He later molested the older boy on several occasions when the boy was 11 to 12 years old.

The incidents, which happened between 2022 and 2023, made the boys suicidal and traumatised to this day.

The man, a 37-year-old Singaporean, was married at the time of the offences.

According to a psychiatric report following his arrest, the man was assessed to have paedophilic disorder, but this was not a contributory link to his alleged offences.

Previous offence

According to court documents, at the time of the offences, the man was running a TikTok account where he made short videos mainly about the Islamic religion.

Prior to meeting the victims, he was arrested in 2021 for molesting another boy, who was 17 at the time. He had acted as a "big brother" and a religious mentor to this victim.

He was released on bail the day of his arrest.

Becoming the boys' father figure

Later in April 2022, the man got acquainted with the two brothers after the older brother introduced himself to the man at a mosque, having recognised him from the man's TikTok account.

As they grew close, the boy confided in the accused about his parents, who were divorced.

The boys' father abandoned them in 2016, while their mother was serving time in a drug rehabilitation centre from 2021 to 2023. During this time, the boys stayed with their maternal grandmother, who took care of them.

The grandmother, noticing the closeness between the older brother and the man, asked to meet the man at their house to assess him.

After meeting him and seeing his TikTok videos, she found him to be "very religious" and decided to trust him. He started sending the older boy to school every day.

Over time, the man also grew close to the younger brother, and would spend time with him alone.

He brought the boy to the mosque to pray, played with him, fetched him from school, and brought him out to eat.

At some point, he told the grandmother that he would like to be a father figure and a religious guide to the two brothers, highlighting their absent parents and the fact that he did not have children himself.

Trusting him, she allowed them to meet more regularly.

Since then, the two brothers treated the man as a godfather and called him "Daddy". The man, in turn, treated them like his own children and addressed them as his "sons".

Offences involving the younger boy

The man raped the younger boy between 2022 and 2023, when the boy was between six and eight.

The boy told the man he was scared to be alone while using the toilet at the mosque, and asked the man to accompany him.

After doing so, the man developed an urge to rape the boy and devised a plan to do that in his house.

One day at his house, the man told the boy he would give him a toy gun if he got into a "prayer position" on the sofa.

When the boy did so, the man then asked him to remove his pants if he wanted the toy gun. The boy complied, and the man raped him.

Later, he told the boy they were just "having fun", and said not to tell anyone about what happened, or that would mean that he did not "love Daddy and Daddy [would] go to jail".

The boy replied that he would keep the incident a secret, as he was afraid the man would scold him.

The man went on to rape the boy again on several occasions, including in a toilet in a mosque after a religious class the man conducted.

According to court documents, the man specifically chose to do these sexual acts in the mosque toilet as he liked the excitement of doing so in public.

During a number of these sexual offences, the man gave the boy presents such as toy guns, toy helicopters, and toy pistols as a reward after the act. He also told him the rape was his way of "punishing" the boy for being "naughty".

Offences involving the older boy

In early 2024, the man molested the older brother on several occasions at a staircase landing near the grandmother's house, when the boy was between 11 and 12.

In the first instance, the boy refused to meet the man but relented when he insisted.

After two occasions, the man texted the boy pointing out the boy's reaction to the touching, and humiliated him into keeping silent about what happened.

He asked the boy to keep the incident a secret as "Daddy loves [you]". He added that if the boy did not do so, he was being selfish, and the man would then be forced to "share everything" he knew about the boy.

Arrest

The man's offences were discovered in April 2024 by the boys' mother and the mother's godbrother.

The boy had told their mother and her godbrother what the man did to them, and they confronted the man.

He initially denied sexually assaulting the boys, claiming to suffer from erectile dysfunction, and feigned shock when the older boy recounted the assault.

When the boys' mother continued to question the man, he eventually confessed, but claimed he had committed the assaults under the "control" of a "djinn" (a supernatural spirit based on Islamic theology). He said he found himself naked with the younger boy when the "djinn" left his body.

The wife of the mother's godbrother called the police, who arrested the man that day.

Impact on the victims

As a result of the sexual assaults, the two brothers developed suicidal thoughts and had trouble trusting people.

The younger boy did harm himself by punching his head and hitting his head against the wall.

He had nightmares about the incidents, and at times believed that nobody cared about him.

He also blamed and grew to hate his older brother for being the one who was first acquainted with the man, and as a result felt an occasional urge to hurt the older brother.

The older brother blamed himself for what happened to his younger brother as he was the one who had brought the man into their family.

The two brothers, who used to be close, thus grew apart.

Sentencing

The prosecution sought a jail sentence of 26 years and five months to 28 years and 11 months, along with 24 strokes of the cane.

They argued that the man was a clinically diagnosed paedophile "who hid beneath a religious façade to get close to two minors", then abused his position as their father figure by sexually abusing them.

According to the psychiatric report, he poses a moderate risk of reoffending.

"To the two boys, the accused appeared as a well-known man of faith who promised to be a religious guide to them," the prosecution said.

"Little did they know that beneath his religious cloak stood a paedophile. They did not know that he would rob them of their innocence, self-worth and dignity.

Years after their realisation, they now face the excruciating task of piecing themselves back together."

MUIS's response

A spokesperson of the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (MUIS) strongly condemned the offences involving youth victims at mosque premises, in an Aug. 17 statement.

The accused is not a mosque staff member or volunteer, nor is he an asatizah accredited under the Asatizah Recognition Scheme (ARS).

The MUIS spokesperson emphasised that the safety of mosque visitors is paramount.

"Our mosques must always be safe and trusted spaces, especially for our children and young people," they said.

In response to this case, MUIS will enhance mosque safety by strengthening existing security measures, including patrols and CCTV monitoring.

At the same time, safeguarding extends beyond the mosque premises as more religious engagement takes place online.

The spokesperson reminded parents, mosque leaders, asatizah, and the wider community that they have an important role in helping youths recognise trusted sources, navigate online interactions safely, and speak up when something does not seem right.

Whether online or in person, Muslims are also encouraged to seek guidance from ARS-accredited asatizah, who meet recognised standards of training and professional conduct.

ARS accreditation can be verified the online ARS directory on the MUIS website.

"Individuals who appear or present themselves as religious should not automatically be regarded as qualified religious teachers," the spokesperson said.