Man given reformative training for indecent acts on minor in mall toilet after tying her up for 'photoshoot'
File photo of the State Courts in Singapore. (Photo: Calvin Oh)
SINGAPORE: A 21-year-old man was sentenced to six months' reformative training on Thursday (Jan 28) for committing a series of indecent acts on an underage girl in a handicapped toilet after suggesting a private photoshoot with her.
Alaric Lim Qixian, who was 19 at the time of the offence, will be subject to a strict regime and detained in a structured environment, but he will also be rehabilitated.
He had pleaded guilty to one charge of an indecent act with the victim, who was then a 13-year-old student, and two counts of taking upskirt videos.
They met at a cosplay event in March 2019 and began chatting after exchanging their Instagram details. Lim claimed he was a photographer and offered to conduct a private photoshoot for her, sending a few examples of women in little clothing.
The victim declined, but said she would be interested in a photoshoot involving "bondages and stuff". Lim assured her that she would not have to be fully naked and offered various props for the shoot including a bikini, handcuffs and a collar.
The pair engaged in "overtly sexual conversation", discussing virginity, sex toys and the body's erogenous areas, said the prosecutor.
They met at Plaza Singapura on May 22, 2019, with the girl in her school attire. They went to a handicapped toilet, where they played the game Mobile Legends on their phones for 15 minutes, before Lim took out a black rope.
He tied a rope harness over the victim and placed a blindfold on her before handcuffing her hands behind her back. He then molested her.
The victim felt shocked and disgusted but did not shout for help as she feared what Lim might do.
Eventually, Lim removed the items from the victim and asked if she was okay. She nodded and left the mall, taking a bus home. She lodged a police report the next day to say she had been molested.
Lim was arrested later that day and three upskirt videos he had filmed were found in his phone.
RISK OF SEXUAL REOFFENDING "MODERATE-HIGH"
Deputy Public Prosecutor Joshua Phang urged the court to order Lim to undergo reformative training, noting that his risk of sexual reoffending in the community was assessed to be "moderate-high".
He noted that Lim's actions were premeditated. He knew the victim was just a child, but offered to conduct an erotic photoshoot for her. He engaged her in sexual conversation and "planned and persisted in this deeply inappropriate course of conduct".
Mr Phang added that Lim's culpability is not reduced despite the victim's "purported agreement to taking part in some sexualised acts with him".
In the report assessing Lim's suitability for reformative training, he was assessed to have "thinking patterns that minimised his responsibility for the sexual offence", as he asserted that he was "cooperating with the victim's wishes" and "simply following along with the victim's intentions".
However, Lim bore the responsibility to exercise discretion as the adult in the situation, said the prosecutor.
His father had ceased contact with the family after a divorce and Lim's relationship with his mother was described in a psychological report as a "distant mother-child relationship", said the prosecutor.
He added that this means Lim is unlikely to receive significant familial support at home for rehabilitation, urging the court to choose reformative training over probation even though Lim was found suitable for either.
Another significant risk factor flagged in Lim's reports was his exposure to pornography.
"Both reports flag his mother's failure to supervise his mobile phone or Internet usage as a risk factor," said Mr Phang. "His mother also seems to share the accused's tendency to externalise his responsibility for his actions, having noted in relation to his offences that 'the victims had a part to play in initiating or consenting'."
