7 months jail for sex with girl, 13

A full-time national serviceman, who had unprotected sex with a 13-year-old girl days after meeting her online was sentenced to seven months in jail yesterday.

Muhammad Shahrul Shah Saruwan, 20, committed six offences either at his Woodlands Housing Board flat or on staircase landings in the neighbourhood.

He is the fourth and last person to be dealt with for underage sex with the same victim, who ended up pregnant and had to have an abortion.

Two other men, aged 21 and 23, had earlier got a year in jail each for similar offences.

A third person, 20, was placed on 15 months' probation.

The court earlier heard that Muhammad Shahrul had added the minor, a secondary school student, as a friend on a messaging app on May 25.

The next day, he asked her to be his girlfriend and have sex with him.

She agreed and their first five sexual encounters took place on May 30 and 31.

Two of these sexual acts happened in Muhammad Shahrul's bedroom after he snuck the victim in while the rest of his family was sleeping.

Probation was not recommended for Muhammad Shahrul, who pleaded guilty to two of six charges against him, with the rest taken into consideration.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Michelle Lu said he should be jailed, pointing out that the usual term imposed for such offences was 12 months.

In passing sentence, Community Court Judge Lim Keng Yeow noted the victim's age, the age gap between her and Muhammad Shahrul, and the number of charges against him.

But the judge also took into account the fact that Muhammad Shahrul is under 21 years old.

Muhammad Shahrul could have been jailed for up to 10 years and fined for each count of having sex with a person under 16 years.

This article was first published on December 25, 2014.
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