In a disturbing case that has shocked the netizens, a 14-year-old boy has pleaded guilty to charges of sexual penetration of a minor and abetting in the concealment of his 15-year-old girlfriend’s stillborn child.
The court heard that the boy and the victim began dating in 2020 when he was 14 and she was 15. Despite being young and inexperienced, they engaged in sexual activities without protection due to difficulties in obtaining contraceptives.
On Wednesday (Dec 13), the individual, who is currently 18 years old and cannot be identified due to being a minor at the time of the crime, entered a guilty plea. They confessed to charges that include sexually penetrating a minor and encouraging the girl to hide the birth of her child by burying it.
Due to their ages at the time of the offense, the identity of the boy remains protected.
WHAT REALLY HAPPENED
According to Channel News Asia, in January 2021, the girl suspected she was pregnant and asked the boy to acquire a pregnancy test kit online. After confirming her fears, she chose to keep the news from her family and confided in her boyfriend. Together, they researched various methods of abortion they found online, including purchasing abortion pills.
Desperate to end the pregnancy, the couple attempted procedures such as physical violence on the girl’s abdomen. On June 10, 2021, the girl went into labor and, during a video call with her boyfriend, gave birth to a stillborn child in the confines of her bedroom. Alone and with a pair of scissors, she severed the umbilical cord.
Disturbingly, the boy encouraged the girl to cut the placenta into small pieces, flush it down the toilet, and bury the deceased infant. In compliance with his instructions, the girl wrapped the stillborn child in newspaper and stored it in a cabinet before eventually burying it in her family’s garden.
As per the report from Straits Times, she birth to a stillborn son in June 2021. She kept the foetus in her cabinet for two days before burying the body in the garden of her house at the instigation of her boyfriend.Two days later, she buried it in the garden of her home and would sit there to grieve from time to time.
The pair ended their relationship in March 2022, as per the report.
It was not until April that the victim’s mother noticed her daughter’s uncharacteristic silence and inquired further. Devastated, the girl confessed the shocking events to her mother, prompting immediate police involvement. The authorities subsequently recovered the deceased infant’s body.
Defence lawyers Choo Si Sen and Choo Yean Lin have requested the court to not require a reformative training report as their client is set to join the army in January.
The lawyers stated in their written mitigation plea that their client, a first-time offender, acted impulsively due to his young age. They also highlighted that the teenager achieved good academic results and comes from a stable family background.
The lawyers said the teenager obtained “good academic results” and comes from “a well-structured family”, as per CNA report.
The lawyers stated that their client has admitted to the charges and is eager to move forward with his life.
The judge has called for a probation suitability report instead of a reformative training report at this stage. The accused will be sentenced in January. The penalties for abetting the concealment of a child’s birth can result in a maximum prison sentence of two years, a fine, or both.
The penalties for abetting the concealment of a child’s birth include a maximum of two years in jail, a fine, or both. An offender found guilty of sexual penetration of a minor may face a prison term of up to 20 years, a fine, or caning.
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