Teen given 21 months' probation after deceiving peer into performing degrading acts

SINGAPORE: A teenager who made another teenager perform degrading acts, such as soaking his genitals in chilli oil and drinking his own urine, was given 21 months' probation on Monday (Jan 12).

The 18-year-old male pretended to be a female to deceive the male victim, also 18, into believing that they were in a romantic relationship.

Both the accused and the victim, who were around 16 at the time of the offences, cannot be named due to a gag order protecting their identities. The gag order also covers the nature of their relationship.

The teenager earlier pleaded guilty to a charge each of cheating and extortion, with two counts of a similar nature considered.

Intending to pull a prank at first, he created an Instagram account in February 2023 that seemingly belonged to a female and used it to contact the victim. He downloaded inappropriate photos of girls from the internet to make the fake profile more convincing.

He also engaged the victim in conversations about sexual fantasies, misleading him into believing that he was in a romantic relationship with the female. The two had video calls, during which the accused kept his camera turned off, while the victim showed his face.

Between February and December 2023, the accused deceived the victim into performing degrading acts. These included soaking his genitals in chilli oil for two minutes and rubbing salt on them.

The accused also made the victim drink his own urine, perform sexual acts in front of a camera, play football unclothed, and cut and burn his hair with a lighter.

He further manipulated the victim into sending gift cards and cash amounting to S$390 (US$300), and coerced him into eating butter and cheese even when he was unable to swallow any more.

The prosecution, saying earlier that some of the acts were likely to cause bodily harm to the victim, added: "The victim performed the acts as he believed that he was in a relationship with (the woman in the profile) and did so in order to make (her) happy. These were acts that the victim would not have done if he were not so deceived."

Having recorded video calls with the victim, the accused sent the screen recordings to another person.

Using the same hoax profile, the accused then extorted money from the victim by threatening to circulate the compromising recordings.

Fearing exposure, the victim complied with instructions to hide cash inside a book at a bookstore in Tampines Mall. The accused and the person with whom he had shared the recordings would then collect the money, splitting the proceeds. On one occasion, they collected S$100, of which S$20 was given to the other person.

Using the same method, the pair continued to collect money from the victim between July and December 2023. Across five occasions, S$2,450 was collected.

The victim lodged a police report on Jun 8, 2024, and the accused was arrested two days later. Court documents did not state how the victim discovered that he had been deceived.

ACCUSED HAS POTENTIAL FOR REFORM

After the accused pleaded guilty, he was assessed for probation and reformative training.

Both are rehabilitative sentencing options. Under probation, a young offender is placed under the supervision of a probation officer for a period and must comply with conditions such as curfews. Probation does not result in a permanent criminal record.

A step up from probation is reformative training, which includes offenders being placed in a controlled environment with a structured schedule of activities for a period of time. This results in a criminal record.

On Monday, the court heard that the accused was found suitable for both probation and reformative training.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Stephen Yeo called for reformative training, stating that the need for deterrence in this case was "very clear". The acts of cheating were "very depraved" and "unprovoked", he said.

The accused was represented by lawyer Rohit Kumar Singh from Regal Law, who urged the court to grant his client probation.

"The accused is truly remorseful for his actions and regrets the offences he has committed ... he is dedicated to improving himself following these incidents, by furthering his studies ... and subsequently focusing on his National Service," Mr Singh said.

"It's been a while since I saw a probation report this positive. I urge your honour to give him a chance, and I assure you he will not waste this chance," Mr Singh added, stressing the teenager's potential for reform.

Despite having earlier expressed her reluctance to consider probation, District Judge Carol Ling decided to grant probation to the accused.

As part of his probation, he must remain indoors from 10pm to 6am, perform 110 hours of community service and undergo counselling programmes as necessary.

His parents were also required to post a bond of S$5,000 to ensure their son’s good behaviour.

"Make no mistake, the offences are serious," Judge Ling said in court.

She described the teenager's conduct as "highly reprehensible" and said that it showed a "complete lack of empathy" and total disregard for the victim.

Noting the accused's youth at the time of the offences, Judge Ling said that young age alone could not always excuse one's actions, but found that there was room for rehabilitation in this case.

She noted that both the probation and reformative training reports were consistent in finding his risk of reoffending to be low, and that he had insight into his harmful behaviour and its effects.

However, she warned the accused that if he reoffended or failed to comply with his probation conditions, the court could revoke probation and impose reformative training.

"Probation is not a get-out-of-jail card," the judge said.

For cheating, an offender can be jailed for up to three years or fined, or both.

For extortion, an offender can be jailed between two and seven years, and caned.

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