S’porean man, 34, sexually abused 6 boys, emailed police about crimes, confessed & underwent ‘chemical castration’, jailed over 19 years

A 34-year-old Singaporean man, who sexually abused six boys as a youth between 2010 and 2014, was sentenced on Oct. 28 to a jail term of 19 years, one month, two weeks and 14 days.

His offences had gone undetected and only came to light in 2019 when he emailed police stating that he had committed crimes in the past, which he believed remained unsolved.

Charges

Court documents seen by Mothership stated that Chen Caijin will also receive the maximum 24 strokes of the cane.

He pleaded guilty to six charges, which include molestation, sexual penetration of a minor, voluntarily causing hurt, taking nude photos of a child, as well as relinquishing a bank account.

Another 16 charges were taken into consideration during sentencing.

A gag order was imposed to protect the victims' identities.

Offences

In 2010, Chen, who was 17 to 18 years old then, abused his first victim, who was 14 to 15 years old at the time.

He would pay for the victim when they gamed at LAN shops.

Court documents stated that the victim would push Chen away when he hugged the victim and tried to kiss him.

Chen also molested the victim.

On one occasion, Chen pulled down the victim's pants and sexually assaulted him when the victim fell asleep at the void deck.

Other friends who were present laughed, and the victim did not dare to confront Chen despite being confused as Chen had been paying for his games.

Chen also molested the victim while they rode an e-scooter together, and later sexually assaulted the victim, who was asleep.

After performing sex acts on another victim, Chen shared nude pictures he took of the victim with three mutual friends without the victim's consent.

In addition, at least one victim allowed Chen to continue with his sexual abuse as he was worried that Chen would no longer pay for his meals and gaming.

Emailed police

According to court documents, Chen's offences came to light in 2019 when he sent an email to the police on Nov. 1, 2019.

He stated that he had committed serious crimes in the past but had not been caught, and wanted to "ask some question[s]" before deciding whether to admit to those crimes.

Chen added that he wanted to "negotiate a certain type of punishment (not liniency [sic])" if he confessed, but did not provide other details of what these crimes were.

A few days later on Nov. 4, 2019, Chen sent another email to the police from a different email address.

In reiterating that he had committed some crimes in the past which he believed remained unsolved, Chen stated that he "deserve[d] to be punished".

He also posed various questions to the police, which included how he could be sentenced to the maximum number of strokes of the cane.

Told police

The police then invited him to provide a statement in person.

On Nov. 8, 2019, Chen provided a statement to the police, where he admitted to having previously molested several individuals and having sex with underage victims.

However, as he did not want to be arrested or detained, he refused to reveal the victims' identities or the details of the offences he had committed.

The police were only able to begin identifying suspected victims of Chen's sexual crimes after seizing his phone, obtaining a forensic extraction of its contents and reviewing Chen's messages with his contacts.

Through extensive investigations, the police discovered that Chen had engaged in at least 22 sexual offences between 2010 and 2014.

According to court documents, Chen was largely cooperative throughout investigations and willingly disclosed information related to his sexual crimes to the police.

He was arrested on Apr. 15, 2024, and has been in remand to date.

Examined by psychiatrist

Upon examining Chen, an Institute of Mental Health (IMH) psychiatrist said he had personality disorder with prominent masochistic and antisocial traits.

Chen was also found to have paraphilic disorder, with an extensive history of childhood sexual trauma.

Though the psychiatrist said Chen's main sexual interest was in teenage boys aged 11 to 16, he also had strong paedophilic tendencies as he displayed sexual interest in males under 13 years of age.

The psychiatrist was also of the opinion that Chen would have been aware of the nature and wrongness of his actions at the time of the offences, and that there was no direct contributory link from any of his psychiatric conditions.

This is because neither his judgment nor self-control would have been impaired.

Prosecution submissions

The prosecution sought a sentence of 18 to 20 years and four months' jail, plus 14 days' jail for breach of remission order and the maximum 24 strokes of the cane.

According to court documents, the prosecution accepted that some mitigating weight should be given to Chen's youth and admissions to the police, as well as his subsequent cooperation during investigations.

They said it was Chen's initial act of coming forward that resulted in criminal investigations, without which the offences may never have come to light.

The prosecution noted, however, that Chen's cooperativeness was conditional and limited.

This is because he initially wanted to "ask some question[s]" before deciding whether to admit to his crimes and claimed that he wanted to "negotiate a certain type of punishment" if he confessed.

Chen also refused to reveal the identities of his victims or details of his crimes as he did not want to be arrested or detained.

As such, Chen's acceptance of responsibility for his actions went only so far as his ability to dictate the terms of his punishment, the prosecution said.

They added that while some credit should be given for coming forward to the police, he should not be placed on the same footing as an offender who offered a full confession or voluntarily surrendered to custody.

"His conduct was both harmful and deplorable and the sentence imposed should send a clear signal that preying on the young will not be tolerated."

Defence

CNA reported that the defence argued that Chen did not present as a "typical sexual offender".

Noting that Chen committed the offences when he was 17 to 20 years old, they said that he was sincerely remorseful.

He had demonstrated this through a voluntary confession, and proactively sought treatment at IMH.

The defence said Chen was prescribed injections to lower his testosterone levels and manage his sexual urges, which doctors described as "a form of chemical castration".

Chen also asked for the dosage to be increased to manage his urges, according to CNA.

The defence added that Chen wished to see his 71-year-old mother, who has stomach cancer, again before she dies.

'Disturbing' pattern of conduct: Judge

Calling it a "disturbing" pattern of conduct, CNA reported Justice Mavis Chionh as saying that Chen made friends with a victim and initiated physical contact afterwards, which escalated into sexual acts.

As such, she said it would not be accurate for his offences to be attributed solely to a lack of self-restraint, or his youth or youthful folly.

However, she accepted that Chen had displayed genuine remorse as he voluntarily underwent chemical castration.

For sexual penetration of a minor, Chen could have been given up to 20 years' jail and fined or caned.