A 42-year-old manufacturing manager gained the trust of a 15-year-old girl on social media platform WeChat, where the teenager was searching for a friend with whom she wanted to share her personal problems but the man took the advantage and sexually abused the minor.
Singaporean Ian Kevin Bligh, who is married, invited the girl to his house while his wife was at work and had a sexual intercourse with the minor, who is of borderline intelligence.
During the court hearing the Deputy Public Prosecutor Raja Mohan told the court that the victim was scared and was unable to understand what was happening at that time. The court also heard that, on another occasion, between May and November 2014, the man gave the minor a glass of vodka to drink before performing sexual acts on her.
In addition, DPP Raja told the court that the victim used to trust the accused and shared personal problems with him such as fights with father and classmates but, she never had any kind of romantic feeling for the accused.
DPP Raja added, the victim who is now 19, did not like to be at home as she never close to her father, stepmother and step-siblings. She also got into arguments and near-fights with Secondary 3 class boys because they irritated her almost daily and as a result, she did not even like to go to school.
As per the court documents, as she was not close to her family she was unable to talk to her father regarding any issue. DPP Raja said, when the girl found the accused, she started to share her problems with him but Bligh sexually abused her.
After those incidents, she stopped talking to the accused and kept those offences as a secret as she had a fear that her hot-tempered father would find Bligh and attack him. But, the truth came out when a teacher at her school confronted her for using her mobile inside the classroom on January 14, 2015. Later, when the teacher checked her phone she found exchanged messages between the victim and the accused.
DPP Raja said when police were informed about the matter, they started the investigation and finally found the offences committed by Bligh.
The District Judge Tan Jen Tse found Bligh guilty of two counts of sexual penetration on Tuesday, September 4 but he was offered bail of $10,000 and will be back in court on Oct 4.
As per, Children and Young Persons Act, Any person who, in public or private —
(a) commits or abets the commission of or procures or attempts to procure the commission by any person of any obscene or indecent act with any child or young person; or
(b) procures or attempts to procure the commission of any obscene or indecent act by any child or young person,
shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $10,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 5 years or to both and, in the case of a second or subsequent conviction, to a fine not exceeding $20,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 7 years or to both.
