Ex-volunteer police officer jailed for sexually abusing teen with low IQ
A volunteer police officer jailed yesterday for abusing his authority to sexually abuse his young victim.
June 2014 was a tragic month for her.
Not only did she lose her husband to an illness, she also found out that her autistic son had been sexually abused on two occasions by a Volunteer Special Constabulary (VSC) officer whom she had trusted.
Yesterday, the former officer, Koon Kok Wai, 53, who is now unemployed, was jailed five years for molesting the teen, now 19, and performing oral sex on him.
We are not naming the victim due to a gag order to protect his identity.
Court papers said Koon was a VSC officer holding the rank of sergeant when he met the teen on May 29, 2014.
That day, Koon and his partner had received a call regarding a boy creating trouble.
When they got to the scene, they found the teen, then 17, lying on the pavement.
The teen, who has autism and an IQ of 59, fled when he saw the two officers.
He ran to the second storey of a block and sat on the parapet, but Koon and his partner managed to calm him down and get him to safety.
Koon, who was aware of the teen's low intellect, took down his name, address, NRIC number and phone number.
He went on to befriend the victim by calling him and arranging to meet him at his home, at his void deck and at a community centre.
He would also give the teen food.
Koon also contacted the teen's mother and reassured her that he would accompany the teen whenever he was free.
The teen's mother was grateful as she was busy caring for her gravely-ill husband in hospital. But Koon would go on to betray her trust.
On June 12, 2014, he asked the teen out for a swim at a swimming complex. After the swim, they went to the toilet and entered the same cubicle.
There, Koon touched the teen all over his body, including his private parts, even though the victim did not like it.
They then got dressed, left the swimming complex and went for lunch, which Koon paid for.
Sometime that month, the teen was alone at home when Koon paid him a visit. Koon made the teen enter a bedroom and he undressed him.
NO CONSENT
He performed oral sex on the teen, who did not consent to the act, and he told him not to tell his mother of the visit.
On June 16, Koon was at a coffee shop with the teen when the mother came by.
Koon asked her if her son could stay at his home, but she refused.
A few days later, the teen told his mother what Koon had done and said that the accused was "crazy".
It was also during this period that the teen's father died. As such, his mother could take him to make a police report only on June 27 after the funeral was over.
Yesterday, Koon pleaded guilty to one count each of molesting the boy and making the boy perform sexual penetration.
Another charge of outrage of modesty was taken into consideration for sentencing.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Lin Yinbing said Koon had abused his authority as a VSC officer and had made use of the boy's phone number, which was privileged information, to get close to him.
She said he went on to sexually groom and abuse the victim, especially with the teen's mother preoccupied with her husband's health.
"Instead of protecting the weak and vulnerable as a VSC officer should, the accused had grossly misused his position to manipulate and to abuse," she said.
Defence lawyer A. Ravidass said in his mitigation plea that Koon was remorseful and had apologised to the teen and his mother.
He also said that Koon, who is not married, had been with the VSC since 2006, and was on course to be promoted to a staff sergeant.
Koon was dismissed from the VSC and he later worked as an aviation screening officer with Certis Cisco for a while.
Principal District Judge Ong Hian Sun said Koon had abused the trust placed in him and exploited a young and vulnerable victim.
The judge, however, allowed Koon to defer his sentence until June 1 to attend a medical review.
Koon could have been jailed for up to 20 years and fined for sexual penetration, and up to two years and fined for outrage of modesty.
What is VSC?
The Volunteer Special Constabulary (VSC) was formed in 1946 to provide support to regular police officers.
The scheme now requires volunteer recruits to undergo a non-residential basic course at the Police Academy twice a weekfor six months.
The course covers areas such as basic legal knowledge, firearms training, drills, and police defence tactics.
There are about 800 VSC officers in Singapore, The Straits Times reported last year.
VSC officers have the same power as police officers and wear the same uniform. They also patrol the streets and take part in operations.
A police spokesman said Koon Kok Wai , who joined the VSC in February 2006, was discharged from service in July 2014 following his arrest in late June that year.
"VSC officers who commit offences can expect to be charged in court and dealt with in accordance with the law," the spokesman said.
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