Singapore jails self-styled religious teacher with HIV for 21 years for sexually abusing underage boys

The 35-year-old Singaporean man cannot be named to protect the identities of the boys, who were between 11 and 16 at the time of the offences.

He sexually abused them over several years from 2014, offering them gifts such as a second-hand PlayStation or game credits.

The man pleaded guilty in September to three counts of sexual penetration of a minor, with another 18 charges considered in sentencing.

The offender worked part-time, providing religious and Arabic language home tuition on top of delivering food from 2013.

The Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (MUIS) has said that the man was a “self claimed” religious teacher and has never been registered under the Asatizah Recognition Scheme (ARS).

He was also not authorised to perform any form of religious instruction or guidance in Singapore, MUIS said.

The offender continued his sexual crimes on one victim even after realising in February 2019 that he had contracted the HIV from an adult partner.

The man was caught by chance in June 2019 when police officers on patrol did a spot check after noticing the offender with some young boys drinking alcohol near Changi Beach.

The man was diagnosed with paedophilia disorder and assessed to be at a moderate to high risk of recidivism, given his “history of sexual deviancy, easy access to and grooming of multiple victims for sex”.

The prosecution sought 24 years and eight strokes of the cane, while the defence sought 16 to 18 years’ jail.

Vinit Chhabra said his client was physically frail and HIV-positive, and thus caning was not suitable.

At the previous hearing, the judge had asked both sides to make submissions on whether a sentencing framework was needed for the charges.

On Tuesday, Deputy Public Prosecutor Stephanie Koh, who handled