Man allegedly raped 12-year-old Singaporean schoolgirl

It's a situation that strikes fear in the hearts of all parents of young girls: rape.

According to a New Paper report, "a 39-year-old man has been accused of raping a 12-year-old girl, just three days after meeting her through a mobile phone messaging app."

On Wednesday 16 December during the trial for this case, Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Jasmine Chin-Sabado said in the prosecution's statement that Lee first got in touch with the girl through an unnamed mobile phone messaging app on May 26, 2012.

The girl, then, was in Secondary 1.

Reportedly, Lee had asked the young girl to be his girlfriend. He had done this despite the young girl being just a few days away from her 13th birthday at the time.

Reports quote DPP Chin-Sabado as saying that "on the evening of May 29, 2012, the girl had just finished her co-curricular activities when Lee picked her up from a bus stop near her school."

Following this, he took her to a carpark at Chinese Garden, and after telling her to go to the backseat of his car (she complied), raped her.

"He then drove to a nearby McDonald's outlet and bought her a burger before sending her home," say reports.

The sexual predator had allegedly tried to organise another meeting with the child on June 3 2012; however, the girl's mother discovered Lee's messages to her daughter that day, following which police were notified and the man was arrested.

Dr Manisha Mathur, from KK Women's and Children's Hospital's department of obstetrics and gynaecology, is among the 15 prosecution witnesses, and had examined the girl in June 2012.

According to reports, Dr Mathur told the court that the girl had revealed to her that she tried to resist Lee, but he was too strong for her, raping her while wearing a condom.

She also said that "the girl's hymen was torn, but it was difficult to ascertain when that had happened as the examination was more than 72 hours after the alleged incident."

If found guilty of rape, Lee faces between eight and 20 years' jail and can be given at least 12 strokes of the cane.

If convicted of sexually grooming a girl under 16, he faces up to three years' jail with a fine.

If found guilty of attempting to procure the commission of an obscene or indecent act by the young girl, he could be jailed up to five years' jail and fined up to $10,000.

News reports say, "Lee is on trial over charges of rape, sexually grooming a minor and attempting to get the girl to perform an indecent act."

He has pleaded not guilty to all three charges; the trial continues today.

This is yet another horrifying incident that reminds us of the very real threat of sexual predators targeting our young children.

Their twisted plans of seduction and abuse are made so much easier to implement these days through the convenience and anonymity that the technology and the Internet provides.

In the bid to protect our children and made them aware of the danger of sexual predators -- online and via other channels -- do keep these tips from Mr Chong Ee Jay in mind. Mr Chong is assistant manager at Touch Cyber Wellness, which provides Internet safety training in schools.

• Parents and educators should  keep up to date on the increasing plethora of online platforms used by young people.

• If you can't stop your kids from meeting online friends, teach them the importance of telling someone where they are going or taking a friend along.

• Parents should build and maintain close relationships with their children from a young age, and create an environment in which their kids will feel comfortable telling their parents anything.

In a nutshell, awareness and education is key to keeping our kids safe.

Do read this theAsianparent article for information on teaching younger child about "stranger danger".

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