When I Was Young

Zul Othman

zul@mediacorp.com.sg

HE was only 13 when the 32-year-old woman met him through his mother.

But that did not stop the former canteen stall assistant from starting an intimate relationship with the Secondary school boy.

The woman, who admitted that she had done wrong, was yesterday jailed for 10 months after a district court found her guilty of having sex with an underage boy.

The divorcee, who has a 14-month-old son, is the second woman to be charged for sex with a minor since the laws were amended in February last year. She cannot be named to protect the identity of the boy, now 14.

The woman yesterday admitted to two counts of having sex with the boy on May 4 and 17 last year.

A report by Dr Thong Jiunn Yew from the Institute of Mental Health found that the accused was suffering from depression when she became close to the victim. However, she was found to be “aware of the nature and quality of the acts committed with the victim and was also aware that he was underage”, said Assistant Public Prosecutor Kalidas Murugaiyan.

During sentencing, District Judge James Leong said he took into account the fact that she had pleaded guilty early as well as her mental state. But the “offences are serious... and the victim is very young, so as an adult you should have known better”, he added.

The accused, who was not represented, has been in custody since March 20 as she could not pay the $10,000 bail.

According to court documents, the accused would leave her baby in the care of the victim’s mother.

As the baby-sitter did not know how to use a mobile phone, she would ask her son to call or send a text message to the accused to ask her when she would be dropping off her child.

The woman and the boy subsequently began exchanging calls and text messages. After several outings, she told the boy she had fallen in love with him.

In the meantime, both the accused’s sister and the boy’s mother grew suspicious of the relationship with the woman. At about 11pm on May 27 last year, the mother paid a surprise visit to the accused’s flat. She found the boy — who had spent the night at the accused’s place — hiding in the wardrobe.

The woman was later arrested after she admitted to having sexual relations with the boy.

Five other charges were also taken into consideration. The woman could have been jailed for up to 10 years and/or fined for each of the two charges.

From TODAY, News – Thursday, 10-April-2009