The ugly truth is that paedophiles do exist in society and they can use really cunning means to prey on our kids. Most of the sexual abuse in children stories we hear, though, are related to online predators. However, one repeat offender in Singapore used a devious method to hurt two young girls -- impersonating as a Housing Development Board (HDB) officer.
Paedophile posed as HDB Officer, lures young girl into apartment
While acting as a HDB officer, 52-year-old Hussain Samat, a paedophile and repeat offender, lured a 16-year-old neighbour into his unit. There, he sexually assaulted her and captured the indecent act on video with his handphone.
After the girl suffered for over two hours, he threatened her with a knife and forced her to get her 12-year-old sister to drop by,too. Her younger sister went through a similar experience after she was showed the recording of her sister's assault.
"A menace to society"
On November 14th 2018, Hussain admitted his guilt to multiple charges. These included sexual assault, trying to rape others, masquerading as a public official, and showing a minor obscene footage.
He will also be charged with 21 other offences when he is sentenced.
David Khoo, the Deputy Public Prosecutor, is intent on handing Hussain the greatest possible term: 20 years' of preventive detention.
Hussain has been a repeat offender in Singapore from 1985. He's been caned and jailed for crimes including keeping drugs, hurting others and robbery. Seventeen years ago, Hussain was also given detention and six cane strokes for a similar crime.
According to Mr Khoo, the maximum term was needed to safeguard the public by guaranteeing that Hussain was "taken out of circulation". "The accused is clearly a menace to society and is incapable of reform. He is a danger to the public," he said.
Sexual Abuse in children stories: Pretend HDB officer's devious plan
Hussain's latest crime - raping the two girls as mentioned - happened on May 6 2017.
Initially, the repeat offender, who worked as a cleaner, tried to steal from his neighbours (where the girls lived) by pretending to be a HDB officer.
After arriving at the sisters' unit, he claimed the Housing Development Board had sent him to investigate an issue. He lied, saying a neighbour protested that their family left trash close by the central rubbish chute.
The girls' mum overheard this, and opposed his claim.
Hussain left following this. But, he came back to the girls' apartment with documents and a pen. He informed the mum that one of her daughters needed to come with him and sign a document which declared that the family didn't leave trash.
The older daughter offered to sign. After doing so, he told her she needed to accompany him to collect signatures from other residents, too. Eventually, they ended up in his apartment.
But it was all a trap...
Hussain stood in front of his open door, speaking" to another person inside. In reality, he lived alone. Next, he gestured the girl to carry a bag at the living room.
But after entering, the girl noticed that there was no one else in the apartment.
The repeat offender then locked the door they had entered from. He pushed her onto a mat. To cover his tracks, Hussain blasted the TV loudly. He scraped a knife across the girl's face, threatening her to hurt her unless she undressed and had sex with him.
The girl requested Hussain to put on a condom. However, he handed her an antibiotic pill instead, saying that it was a birth control pill. The girl argued back that it was too big, and asked him to chop it up it in the kitchen. Meanwhile, she attempted to run away, but Hussain found out, pinned her onto the ground and threatened to kill her.
The 52-year-old tried to then tried to penetrate her but was unsuccessful, and carried out other sex acts on her instead.
Next, Hussain instructed the victim to call her sister, telling her to come to his apartment - otherwise he'd stab her in the stomach. When she arrived, he told them to call their mums that they'd be late. The offender threatened the younger sister in a similar way, after showing her footage from the sex acts with her older sister.
The younger daughter followed his requests since he threatened to slash her sister's face if she did not listen to him.
A way out
While this happened, the older sister was told to make a bowl of noodles. When she finished, she asked for Hussain's handphone to check on her schoolwork. However, the smart girl managed to contact her friends about the kidnapping, who relayed the message to the Singapore Police.
When the police arrived, he locked the girls in the bathroom, but eventually, they were released and the man was arrested.
Hussain's fate will be decided in another trial in Singapore on December 17.
What can we learn from this incident?
Parents, there were a few clear red flags that could have been picked up before the predator made his attack. Do remember to always:
- ask for a public servant's ID if you are suspicious of them. A person who is faking their identity will argue back and refuse to produce their identity.
- never let a young woman follow an adult male alone. You never know what could happen.
- phone the actual authorities and ask them if they had actually sent someone to your place.
- call the police if your child has been missing for several hours after following a stranger claiming to be an authority figure.
Parents, we hope that this article on sexual abuse in children stories has been helpful in understanding that danger lurks everywhere - not just the internet. Stay alert and keep your children well protected!
References: the star, Channel News Asia
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