SINGAPORE, April 30 — A 54-year-old man in Singapore was sentenced to one year and seven months in jail today after pleading guilty to three counts of committing obscene acts on a young person with special needs.
The victim, who cannot be named due to a gag order, suffers from attention deficit disorder, learning difficulties, and severe dyspraxia, a condition affecting physical coordination.
The offender had been trusted by the girl’s parents since around 2014 to serve as her physical trainer, helping her manage her dyspraxia through sessions multiple times a week, The Straits Times reported.
Over nearly a decade, he became a confidant to the girl, who grew to trust him deeply, a trust he would later exploit when she was between 16 and 17 years old.
During a training session between May and June 2023, he took advantage of the girl’s complaint of body tension by sliding his hand under her top and touching her chest while massaging her.
In a second incident in June 2023, he pressed a measuring tape and his fingers against her bare chest during what was supposed to be a routine physical measurement session.
On September 30, 2023, he groped the girl’s chest again while massaging her shoulder, and was caught in the act by the family’s domestic helper, who shouted at him.
The helper informed the girl’s parents, who confronted the offender on October 5, 2023, and he confessed to his actions before the father reported the matter to police three days later.
The offender was arrested on January 31, 2025, and was charged in court shortly after, with two additional similar charges taken into consideration during sentencing alongside the three he pleaded guilty to.
He was offered bail of S$20,000 (RM63,000)0 following sentencing and is expected to begin serving his jail term on May 18.