- Illustrative photo.
SINGAPORE: A mosque officer, whose job scope included leading prayers, was at his workplace when he touched a boy’s private parts on two separate occasions in 2014.
The boy, who was a minor of around 15 years old at the time, had been sexually abused multiple times by another person – an older male family member – when he was between nine and 14 years old.
On Thursday (March 27), the prosecution told the court: “The victim was emotionally affected and traumatised by the sexual abuse and exploitation by the male family member as well as the accused.
“(The victim) suffered anxiety attacks, attempted suicide, engaged in self-harm and developed various psychiatric conditions.”
The offender, a married man who is a former accredited ustaz, or Islamic religious teacher, was sentenced to nine months’ jail on March 27 after pleading guilty to one count of committing an indecent/obscene act on the young victim.
Details about the offender, the mosque and the victim cannot be disclosed due to a gag order to protect the victim’s identity.
On July 1, 2024, the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (Muis) told The Straits Times in a statement that the offender is no longer registered under the Asatizah Recognition Scheme, Muis’ compulsory accreditation scheme for religious teachers.
A Muis spokesperson added: “This decision was made following a thorough review and assessment by the Asatizah Recognition Board.”
Deputy public prosecutors Ng Jun Chong and Santhra Aiyyasamy stated in court documents that the victim started attending religious classes at the mosque when he was around nine years old.
The offender joined the mosque in 2014 and was introduced to the victim, who addressed him as “ustaz”.
The mosque’s youth organisation later organised a barbecue session, during which the man spoke to the victim.
They later connected as “friends” on Facebook and started communicating on the portal.
Some time in 2014, the pair were alone in a room at the mosque when the offender felt sexually attracted to the victim.
He then performed acts including touching the youngster’s private parts over his clothing.
The DPPs said the victim felt disgusted but did not resist the man as he did not feel that he was capable of doing so.
The pair were alone in the same room later that year when the offender performed similar acts on the victim.
The prosecution added: “Although the victim was unwilling to engage in sexual acts with the accused, he relented to the accused’s repeated requests to do so.”
The victim eventually stopped going to the mosque and the offender stopped working there later that year.
In 2016, the offender tried to reach out to the victim through Facebook. Among other things, he apologised to the victim in a message on May 18, 2016. The victim did not reply, the court heard.
In April 2017, the man again tried reaching out to the victim through Facebook and the latter responded. Details about his reply were not disclosed in court documents.
The victim went to the Institute of Mental Health for the first time on Dec 29, 2017, and was later diagnosed with major depressive disorder. He was then admitted until Jan 2, 2018.
On Dec 18, 2019, the victim went to Ng Teng Fong General Hospital.
He was then diagnosed with major depression and panic disorder. He was also noted to have symptoms of multiple conditions, including anorexia nervosa.
In 2020, the victim found out that the offender had married a woman and the couple had a child together.
The DPPs said: “The victim eventually created a burner Instagram account and reached out to the accused’s wife (through the account) on Nov 14, 2021, as he felt that she needed to know what the accused did.
“The accused eventually admitted that he had committed obscene/indecent acts with the victim.”
The victim finally lodged a police report on May 27, 2022, and the offender was arrested three days later.
His bail was set at S$15,000 on March 27 and he is expected to begin serving his sentence on April 1. - The Straits Times/ANN
