jamestan
17-03-2011, 12:04 AM
SINGAPORE: A 22-year-old woman pleaded guilty on Wednesday to two counts of performing a sexual act on an underage girl, in what's believed to be the first case of its kind in Singapore.
The woman, who is a student, cannot be named to protect the girl's identity.
The woman performed the act on the then-13-year-old girl with her consent in 2008 and 2009.
Deputy Public Prosecutor S Sellakumaran said the girl's schoolmate first introduced the youngster to the woman in November 2007.
They became good friends after meeting each other face-to-face at the girl's birthday party later that month.
DPP Sellakumaran added that they ended up in a relationship about two months later.
Soon after this, the woman would pick her up from school whenever the girl's mother was unable to do so.
The court heard that the woman first committed the act on the girl in November 2008 at a staircase landing of a multi-storey car park.
She later performed a similar act on the girl in a room at Siloso Beach Resort in Sentosa in 2009.
The girl's mother soon learnt about her daughter's relationship with the woman and alerted the authorities.
Defence Counsel Paul Tan urged the court to put his client on probation.
He said the woman was 19 years old when she first became the girl's partner and the two of them were very close to each other.
However, District Judge Low Wee Ping said the fact that the girl consented to the act may not be relevant.
He stressed that the offence involved a young girl who is protected by the law.
Judge Low has called for a pre-sentence probation report and the woman will be back in court on April 18.
If convicted of the offence, for each charge, she could be jailed up to two years, fined a maximum of 5,000 dollars or both.
The woman, who is a student, cannot be named to protect the girl's identity.
The woman performed the act on the then-13-year-old girl with her consent in 2008 and 2009.
Deputy Public Prosecutor S Sellakumaran said the girl's schoolmate first introduced the youngster to the woman in November 2007.
They became good friends after meeting each other face-to-face at the girl's birthday party later that month.
DPP Sellakumaran added that they ended up in a relationship about two months later.
Soon after this, the woman would pick her up from school whenever the girl's mother was unable to do so.
The court heard that the woman first committed the act on the girl in November 2008 at a staircase landing of a multi-storey car park.
She later performed a similar act on the girl in a room at Siloso Beach Resort in Sentosa in 2009.
The girl's mother soon learnt about her daughter's relationship with the woman and alerted the authorities.
Defence Counsel Paul Tan urged the court to put his client on probation.
He said the woman was 19 years old when she first became the girl's partner and the two of them were very close to each other.
However, District Judge Low Wee Ping said the fact that the girl consented to the act may not be relevant.
He stressed that the offence involved a young girl who is protected by the law.
Judge Low has called for a pre-sentence probation report and the woman will be back in court on April 18.
If convicted of the offence, for each charge, she could be jailed up to two years, fined a maximum of 5,000 dollars or both.