A MALAYSIAN stall assistant became the first man here to be accused of sexual grooming – a charge which targets sexual predators who prey on underage girls with the intention of having sex with them.
He was charged in a district court yesterday with three counts of the sexual grooming of two underage girls.
In both cases, Loh Kuat Fung, 25, met the girls at least twice, before meeting them again intending to have sex. But it is not known if he did have sex with either girl.
The law against sexual grooming was introduced in Parliament in 2007 and came into effect in February 2008.
Loh is said to have intentionally met one of the girls, then aged 13, on two occasions with the intention of having sex.
The first incident took place on Sept 29, 2008 when he met the student at Simei MRT station.
Less than a fortnight later – on Oct 8 – he again travelled to meet the girl, this time at a fast-food restaurant at Tampines Bus Interchange.
Another charge accuses him of meeting a then 15-year-old student at a fitness corner in the Simei area, again with the intention of having sex with the girl.
He had communicated with her at least twice before their Sept 29, 2008 meeting.
Meeting or communicating with the minor “on at least two prior occasions” can amount to sexual grooming.
The law states that a person above the age of 21 is liable for the offence when he “intentionally meets or travels to meet a minor with the intention of committing a sexual offence with the minor”.
A person convicted of sexual grooming can be jailed for up to three years or fined or both.
Anyone who pays for a prostitute under 18 can also be jailed, fined or both.
It is also an offence to seek and pay for sex with a minor outside Singapore.
Loh, who is out on police bail, was represented by a lawyer.
He also faces two other charges of possessing three video clips containing three films without a valid certificate and seven obscene video clips at a flat in Hougang on Jan 20 last year.
A pre-trial conference has been scheduled for March 8.
Sex with underage girls is a growing concern.
Police disclosed that cases of statutory rape – sex involving girls aged between 12 and 14 – have risen sharply over the years, from nine in 2003, to 61 in 2008, to 83 last year.
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