A 20-year-old full-time national serviceman has been sentenced to 12 months’ reformative training after being found in possession of child p*rnography videos and trading such materials with others online.
KEY HIGHLIGHTS OF THE CASE:
- The defendant, a 20-year-old national serviceman, possessed and traded multiple child pornography videos.
- Mohamed Danial Rafiuddin Mohamed Rashid was caught after police received a tip-off and seized electronic devices containing explicit videos of children aged 5-14.
- Mohamed Danial Rafiuddin Mohamed Rashid showed no remorse during court proceedings, providing inconsistent statements to authorities.
- The court sentenced him to 12 months’ reformative training, citing the need for strict rehabilitation to prevent reoffending.
- His father requested leniency, highlighting his son’s youth and good behaviour since arrest, but the judge emphasized rehabilitation over leniency.
DETAILS OF THE CASE
According to the ST, the man, Mohamed Danial Rafiuddin Mohamed Rashid, was deemed unsuitable for probation and will be detained in a centre where he will undergo a strict regimen, which may include foot drills and counselling.
Danial pleaded guilty on February 4 to one count of having the video clips on his iPad and mobile phone, the ST reported.
However, during his sentencing hearing on May 6, Deputy Public Prosecutor Samuel Chew highlighted that after Danial pleaded guilty, he provided information to his probation officer that contradicted court documents.
The prosecutor stated this indicated Danial lacked remorse and acceptance of responsibility for his offences.
According to court proceedings, Danial first encountered child pornography sometime in 2016 after coming across a Facebook group containing videos of children engaging in sexual acts. He obtained copies of these videos by screen recording and saving them on his electronic devices.
The Deputy Public Prosecutor added that Danial admitted to trading and exchanging child pornography videos with other like-minded individuals on social media platforms such as Telegram, WhatsApp, and Facebook. He disclosed that he engaged in such activities until a few weeks prior to his arrest in 2023, trading with around 10 to 15 individuals.
In December 2023, police received a tip-off that Danial was suspected of possessing child abuse materials. Officers raided his home later that month, arresting him and seizing his electronic devices, including his mobile phone and iPad.
The investigation revealed that one of the clips depicted a girl who appeared to be between five and seven years old, while the other nine videos showed boys estimated to be between six and 14 years old.
During the hearing, Danial’s father spoke through a Malay interpreter, pleading for a more lenient sentence. He acknowledged his son’s wrongdoing and noted that his son was still young and serving national service. He also mentioned that he always accompanied Danial while he was out on bail and that his son has not reoffended since.
Judge Kessler Soh, who handed down the sentence, acknowledged the difficulty of the decision for Danial’s father but emphasized that the duration of reformation training was necessary to prevent reoffending. The judge also directed the family to speak to a court counsellor after the hearing.
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