Ex-SAF captain, 41, sexually abused boy, then 15, at Punggol carpark, gets 17 months' jail

An ex-army captain who met his former Republic of Singapore Navy chef ex-boyfriend and sexually abused a then 15-year-old victim in a Punggol carpark was jailed for 17 months on Oct. 20.

The Straits Times reported that 41-year-old Chaw Chia Jun pleaded guilty to one count of producing child abuse material and two counts of sexual penetration involving a minor under 16 years old.

An earlier report mentioned that Chaw's co-accused and ex-boyfriend, 26-year-old Owen Toh Wei Song, was sentenced to 12 months' jail on Sep. 22 after pleading guilty to a charge of sexual penetration of a minor.

Two other charges — one under the same provision and another for filming the act — were taken into consideration for sentencing.

Charge sheets and court documents seen by Mothership stated that both men are Singaporeans, with a gag order on the boy's identity to protect him.

MINDEF response

In response to Mothership's queries, a MINDEF spokesperson had previously said the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) "holds its service personnel to high standards of discipline and integrity".

"Service personnel who commit offences will be dealt with in accordance with the law."

MINDEF added that Toh was suspended from all duties following his arrest in 2024, was subsequently released from regular service, and is no longer with the SAF.

Mothership understands that Chaw is also no longer in the employ of the SAF.

Met on online forum

Around April 2024, the secondary four student searched for ways to make friends online.

He was directed to a website that described itself as an online forum intended for mature Singaporean gay men.

According to court documents, the victim browsed through profiles on the forum and selected Toh's.

The profile contained a link to Toh's Telegram profile, and the victim initiated contact.

Asked for personal particulars in early conversations

In their early conversations on Telegram, Toh asked the victim for his personal particulars, including his age.

Toh found out that the victim was a secondary school student about to sit for his N-Level examinations later that year.

According to court documents, the accused did not ask the victim to produce identification, nor did he take steps to independently verify his age.

Their conversations then switched to sexual topics.

The victim told the accused that he was interested in bondage and blindfolding and was keen to explore it. Toh said he was not experienced in that area but knew his ex-boyfriend, Chaw, was.

The two men had been in a relationship for about one year between 2021 and 2022, but remained in contact after their breakup.

Toh asked the victim if he was comfortable meeting Chaw, and the victim agreed. Subsequently, Toh messaged Chaw and told him about the boy's interests.

He also told the boy that Chaw was 32 years old.

Caressed victim's thighs

Toh then arranged a meeting date between all three.

Sometime before Jun. 5, 2024, Chaw drove to Yio Chu Kang MRT station, where he picked up Toh and the victim. While Chaw was driving, he caressed the victim's thighs.

Chaw parked at the uppermost deck of a multi-storey carpark in Punggol where there were no other vehicles and no one else in the vicinity. They alighted from the car, and Chaw told the victim to strip fully naked.

Court documents stated that the victim did so in the open, appearing nervous and shivering slightly.

Toh performed a sex act on the victim while Chaw filmed the act on his phone. When Chaw asked the victim to do the same to him, the victim declined.

More sex acts ensued, including between Chaw and the victim, before they returned to Chaw's car.

A few days later, Toh asked Chaw for a copy of the recording; Chaw sent the recording over, and Toh saved it to his desktop computer.

Report filed

On Oct. 23, 2024, at around 12:13am, the victim lodged a police report at his neighbourhood police centre.

This happened after his mother and sisters grew concerned over his behaviour and the gifts he'd received from an adult man.

They confronted him, and the victim admitted what had happened.

Investigations led to the arrests of Toh and Chaw.

Chaw was arrested on Oct. 23, 2024, and Toh was arrested on Oct. 25, 2024, before being released on bail the same day and charged in court on May 25, 2026.

Prosecution's address

In seeking a global sentence of 17 to 21.5 months' jail, the prosecution highlighted the following aggravating factors.

Firstly, the prosecution argued that the victim was situationally vulnerable and the accused offended in concert with an adult co-offender.

Secondly, the offence involved gratuitous degradation as court documents stated that Chaw had told the victim to strip fully naked and he did so in the open, appearing nervous and shivering slightly.

Thirdly, the offence was filmed as it was committed.

Noting that the accused had been sentenced to jail for three distinct offences, the jail terms for at least two of the offences must run consecutively, the prosecution said.

As such, it submitted that the sentences for the first and fourth charges should run consecutively.

The prosecution also submitted the following about the global imprisonment term.

Firstly, it is proportionate to the accused's overall criminality and in keeping with his past record and future prospect.

Secondly, it should be backdated to Oct. 23, 2024, which was the accused's date of arrest, but exclude the period where the accused was released on bail.