A 33-year-old Indian-origin man was sentenced to 19 months' jail by a Singapore court for molesting his friend's minor sister over a decade ago. The crime took place over the years when the victim was seven to nine years old, and Melvinder Singh Gurmit Singh was 19 to 21 years old.
Singh had contested two counts of molestation, claiming among other things that the girl had kissed him consensually and that she was taking revenge on him.
The girl had not disclosed the offences earlier as she felt nobody would believe her, but said the molestation impacted her ability to give and receive physical affection, reported Channal News Asia.
She finally lodged a police report in March 2023 after revealing the molestation to her mother and boyfriend when they separately questioned her. The court convicted Singh and sentenced him to 19 months' jail.
The prosecution had sought 20 to 22 months' jail for Singh, saying he had exploited a young victim and abused the trust placed in him by the victim and her family members.
Victim always panicked when her boyfriend indulge in any physical intimacy
According to CNA, the victim, who viewed Singh as an older brother, testified that he began kissing her on the lips when she was eight years old. In 2012 or 2013, when she was about nine, Singh molested her inside a clubhouse after taking her there while she was swimming with her brothers.
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She said she was in shock during the incident and did not report it earlier because she feared her family would not believe her due to their close relationship with Singh. The victim only disclosed the molestation to her mother in 2023, after her boyfriend asked her why she would panic or ask him to stop during acts of physical intimacy.
Two years after this, when the victim's mother asked her about sleeping arrangements on a trip with her boyfriend and whether they were having sex, the victim said she was not comfortable talking about it. After being pressed, she disclosed that she had been molested by Singh when she was younger. The victim's mother brought up the idea of making a police report and the victim did so in March 2023, according to the CNA report.
Singh said he will be appealing against his conviction and sentence. For each count of molestation of a minor, he could have been jailed for up to five years, fined, caned, or given any combination of these punishments.
(With inputs from agency)
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