Boy, 14, allegedly tries to sexually abuse girl, 9, at Bukit Batok, but alert resident stops him
A 14-year-old boy has been accused of trying to sexually abuse a nine-year-old girl and using her phone to search for explicit content, with an alert resident stopping him in time.
Two Instagram posts shared by the @sgfollowsall account on Sept 3 showed the boy being confronted, as well as police officers at the scene. According to the captions accompanying both posts, the incident took place near Bukit Batok Central at about 5pm on Aug 28.
One of the posts was a video showing the boy, who is dressed in basketball attire and holding a basketball, being asked by a man about what he was thinking of doing with the girl.
The boy claims the girl asked for his name and wanted to play. He also accuses the girl of leading him up the block and states that he did not know what she wanted to do.
The man then says that the boy matches the description of someone who tried the same thing on his two nieces a few days before, but the boy denies it and insists he isn’t lying.
According to the girl’s parent, who shared the footage with with the sgfollowsall account, her nine-year-old daughter was walking home from tuition when the boy, who was at the playground, asked for her name and whether she wanted to “do something fun”.
“He persuaded her to follow him to a nearby block and brought her up the stairs where he allegedly demonstrated sexually inappropriate behaviour and asked to use her phone to search for obscene sexual videos,” she caption says, adding that an adult actress’ name was retrieved from the phone’s search history.
Coincidentally, a man retrieving a parcel from outside his flat noticed she was in distress and alerted the police.
The caption says that the man told the girl’s parent that something similar happened to his two nieces, one of whom was 10, and that it involved the same boy. It said the matter had been reported to the police and urged other parents to do the same if their child had had a similar experience.
The police confirmed that a report was lodged and that investigations are ongoing.
Man receives praise for interfering
Netizens were full of praise for the man who intervened.
“This is so disturbing, but thank god someone noticed and stepped in. Really hope the kids are OK and the matter gets handled properly. Parents, please keep a lookout for your kids,” said a netizen. “Thanks Abang bro for being alert and protecting kids,” said another.
A third said: “Good job to the gentleman! He is the hero we need to keep our children safe.”
Others were appalled by the age of the alleged offender, with many calling for him to be dealt with sternly.
“Please stop this boy before he does more damage,” said one Instagram user. “So young already doing all this — that’s actually crazy,” another said.
“The fact that he approached people younger than him tells me he knew exactly what he was doing, he should not be let off lightly,” yet another said.
There were those who suggested that the boy needs help, too.
“This 14-year-old boy really needs professional help immediately,” said a netizen. Hope the 14-year-old is able to get the help he needs... this is a serious matter. Parents of his need to step up on being more responsible,” said another.
There were also calls for parents to be more vigilant, with some wondering where the parents of the teenager and the young girl were.
“Where is the father or mother of the boy?,” said one Instagramer. “Where are the parents of the victim? This is crazy…” another said.
Meanwhile, several netizens blamed exposure to the Internet and the lack of parental supervision.
“Too much phone and no guidance at home!” said one. “Stop letting your kids use the Internet so freely, ”another said.
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