A 21-year-old Cambodian man, Benedict Tieng, has been sentenced to eight weeks’ imprisonment after pleading guilty to engaging in sexual communication with a minor below 16 years old.
The victim, a 10-year-old girl, cannot be named due to a court order protecting her identity.
The incident occurred on June 23 of this year when the girl randomly added Tieng as a contact on the chat application Snapchat. Tieng, who identified himself as “Lionor (Benny),” engaged in conversation with the girl, falsely claiming to be a 21-year-old Cambodian-Singaporean student residing in western Singapore, according to the report.
During the conversation, the girl lied about her age, stating that she was 14 years old.
Tieng remarked that she looked as young as nine years old. Despite this, the conversation eventually turned explicit, with the exchange of nude photographs and discussions about engaging in sexual acts during an arranged meeting at Gardens by the Bay.
The communication intensified over three days, including sexually explicit messages, voice recordings, and video footage of Tieng touching himself and mimicking a sexual act. Disturbingly, Tieng referred to the girl as a “sex toy,” “slut,” and even expressed a desire to “rape” her, the report added.
ARRESTED
On June 25, the conversation shifted towards hypothetical children, which made the girl uncomfortable when Tieng suggested teaching their potential offspring to “feel horny.”
Eventually, the conversation moved to WhatsApp, where the girl confessed to lying about her age. Tieng, aware of the deception, then requested the girl to send him pornographic imagery and videos of herself engaging in sexual acts. The girl complied, sending a total of 10 photos and eight videos to Tieng.
The girl’s father discovered the explicit conversations and images on her phone, prompting a confrontation. Unbeknownst to Tieng, the girl’s father recorded the evidence before taking his daughter to the police station to file a report.
Tieng was subsequently arrested on June 30.
JAIL
During the court proceedings, the Deputy Public Prosecutor highlighted the vulnerability of the young victim and the predatory and depraved nature of Tieng’s actions. The prosecutor argued for a strict deterrent sentence, citing the potential harm caused by sexual communication with minors.
DPP Kaur argued that a jail term of between 8 and 10 weeks should be sought for the accused due to the serious harm that could result from the sexual communication. The victim, being a young child, was particularly vulnerable, and the accused displayed predatory behavior with disturbing sexual fantasies, including multiple instances of rape over a period of four days.
Furthermore, DPP Kaur mentioned that the accused took advantage of the victim’s vulnerability by pressuring her to provide sexually explicit photos and videos. Even after learning that the victim was only 10 years old, the accused continued to engage in sexual communication with her, showing no regard for her young age.
According to the law, intentional engagement in sexual communication with a minor below the age of 14 could result in a maximum penalty of three years imprisonment, a fine, or both.
Tieng, who faced a maximum sentence of three years’ imprisonment or fines, or both, for intentionally engaging in sexual communication with a minor below 14 years old, was ultimately handed an eight-week jail term.
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