Former Singapore soldier gets 10 years in jail for raping underage girl

A former Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) regular was sentenced to 10 years’ jail and 12 strokes on the cane on Wednesday for raping a 13-year-old girl at a staircase landing when he was twice her age.

Muhammad Mohamed Iqbal, who is now 29 and is no longer in the army, cried in the dock during proceedings, dabbing at his eyes with tissue paper.

He pleaded guilty to one count of rape by oral penetration, and one count of possessing child abuse material.

There are broadly three kinds of rape under Section 375: penile-vaginal, penile-anal and penile-oral. It applies with or without the victim’s consent if the victim is below 14.

The penalties for all three types of rape are a maximum of 20 years and a fine or caning.