With all the cases of molestation and sexual abuse in the news lately, it’s easy to get desensitized and view each of them as a statistic.
But we must remember that each incident is just as horrific and traumatising as the last and that all of them equally deserve our sympathy and outrage, including this story below.
17YO Teen Accused Of Molesting Girl In Flat And School’s Toilet Cubicle
A 17-year-old boy was charged on Tuesday (29 Oct) for allegedly molesting a 17-year-old girl twice – in a flat and in the female toilet of a secondary school.
According to The Straits Times, it is unclear if the teenagers were studying in the school where the alleged incident occurred.
Both the alleged offender and the school cannot be named due to a gag order to protect the girl’s identity.
So, what happened?
Molested her twice
The 17-year-old female victim was allegedly molested twice by the teenage boy within a week.
The suspect first reportedly molested the girl for the first time in a flat at Yishun Street 21 on July 26 this year.
He is accused of outraging the teenage girl’s modesty by grabbing her right breast and left buttock over her clothing.
The 17-year-old boy allegedly molested the poor girl again just a week later in a cubicle of a female toilet at the school in the northern part of Singapore.
He wrongfully restrained the girl and prevented her from leaving by locking the cubicle door, reported The Straits Times.
Have you no conscience?
Intends to plead guilty
The boy, who has been handed two molestation charges, intends to plead guilty to the offences.
He was offered bail of $5,000 on Tuesday and will be back in court on 14 Nov.
If he’s convicted of molesting the girl in the toilet cubicle, he can be jailed for up to 10 years and caned.
And if he’s also convicted of molesting her in the flat, he can be jailed for up to two years and fined or caned.
At this point, I feel it’s necessary to ask; what’s wrong with these people? I refuse to believe that all these molesters and rapists are incapable of empathy. I’m sure some, if not most, understand the trauma it causes but they still go through with it because they prioritize their own pleasure.
It’s a sickening trend that seems to have taken hold of the country lately. And it’s not just women who are suffering; male molest cases are apparently on the rise, while there has been a 12% increase in the total number of outrage of modesty cases in 2018.
The police, rightly, has given the public advice on how to avoid being a victim and what to do if it happens. But what about the actual perpetrators? What advice and education are we giving potential sexual predators? Punishment can only do so much.
We need to start educating young boys and girls about the damage and emotional pain sexual abuse can cause because if we don’t, nothing will change.
And I’ll have to write more of these articles instead of happy ones like a cat island in Singapore.
