Indian-origin army man jailed for sex attempt on minor in Singapore

Singapore, Feb 1 (IANS) A 50-year-old Indian-origin warrant officer with the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) was sentenced to 10 months in jail on Thursday for attempting to have sex with a 15-year-old in 2021.

Subramaniam Thaburan Rangasamy pleaded guilty last month to one count of sexually penetrating the minor who is now 17, The Straits Times newspaper reported.

Two other charges were taken into consideration during sentencing even as Subramaniam was suspended from all duties following his arrest.

A Ministry of Defence spokeswoman told the Daily that SAF will take further actions after court hearings, which may include discharging Subramaniam from service.

The incident happened on December 6, 2021, when the victim was supposed to have an online meeting with her school counsellor in the morning.

The Secondary 3 student was walking down from the fifth floor of the carpark when she fell and hit a door, and Subramaniam helped her to her feet.

She thanked him and after chatting for about an hour on one of the floors of the carpark, they became intimate.

Subramaniam tried to have sex with her, but failed, following which they parted ways and exchanged numbers, the news report said.

The court heard that they remained in contact via WhatsApp, but the messages were not of a sexual nature.

Two days after the incident, the girl made a police report because she felt that Subramaniam had taken advantage of her.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Sunil Nair had told the court in earlier proceedings: "The accused was not at any time misled as to the victim’s age. The accused did not force or coerce the victim to be intimate."

For penetrating a minor below 16, an offender can be jailed for up to 10 years and fined.