Man put on probation for underage sex

His girlfriend refused to have sex with him more than once a month, so Alistair Pow Jun Hao looked elsewhere.

He befriended a girl, then 13, on Facebook and propositioned her while the two were watching a movie at his home last year.

Pow, 19, was sentenced yesterday to 24 months' probation and 150 hours of community service by a district court, after pleading guilty to two counts of sexually penetrating the minor and another young girl.

According to court papers, Pow "added" his victim on Facebook after finding her through a mutual friend. He invited her to his flat in February last year to "chat as well as watch movies". She said no to sex then.

He then put his girlfriend on the phone, when she told the minor she would stop being friends with Pow if the victim refused. Pow then said this would affect their relationship. The victim said she would "think about it" but relented, asking him afterwards if he loved her. Pow nodded, saying he would not leave her.

Pow's other sexual offences with his previous girlfriend, then 14, took place between February and April 2012 when he was serving full-time national service.

This article by The Straits Times was published in MyPaper, a free, bilingual newspaper published by Singapore Press Holdings.

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