Jail for man who tried to give 'abortion pills' to girl he had sex with

A deliveryman who tried to give "abortion pills" to a 15-year-old girl after getting her pregnant was jailed for 20 months yesterday.

Nuzul Shamil Kassim, 24, was arrested before he could give her the tablets, though the girl went through with an abortion of her own accord.

Shamil pleaded guilty to three counts of underage sex with the girl, who cannot be named, at his Jalan Tenteram flat in May and July last year. Seven other charges were taken into consideration.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Li Yihong told the court that Shamil met the secondary school student through a mutual friend some time in late April last year. They exchanged contact numbers and went out together with mutual friends a few times.

In the first week of May, she asked him to be her "boyfriend'' which he agreed to a few days later. Shamil later told police that he did so because he "pitied'' her.

Some time between May 11 and 22, he invited her to his home and introduced her to his sister as his girlfriend. When it got late, the girl decided to stay over at Shamil's home. She slept on the same mattress as Shamil, together with his younger sister and her boyfriend.

When everyone else in the household was asleep, he got on top of her and they started to kiss before having sex. DPP Li said that after this incident, the girl began going over to his home about once or twice a week for sex.

Shamil broke up with her on July 8. When she found out she was pregnant in August, he asked her to go for an abortion. He enlisted the help of his sister to buy "abortion pills'' but he was arrested before he could hand them to her.

DPP Li said Shamil had committed 10 offences over a short span of time, and did not even use a condom. She also highlighted the trauma the victim had to go through with an unwanted pregnancy. "His callous treatment of the victim and his assistance in providing these 'abortion pills'... must be taken as a reflection of his attitude towards the victim, and how little he was concerned about her welfare."

The maximum punishment for sex with a person under 16 years of age is 10 years' jail and a fine.

elena@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on February 20, 2016.
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