Jail for man who forced underage girl to perform sex act on him

He knew she was a minor when they exchanged messages over Instagram last year.

When they met for the first time, Chellam Rajesh Kannan, 26, an Indian national, bought a pack of cigarettes for the girl, who was 15 then.

He then bought bottles of cider at her request and met her again at her block the following month.

And while at a staircase landing, he kissed her on the lips, exposed himself and forced her to perform an obscene act on him.

Yesterday, Chellam, who is married with a two-year-old daughter, was jailed for seven months.

He pleaded guilty to two counts of sexually exploiting the girl, with two other charges taken into consideration.

In sentencing him, District Judge Shawn Ho agreed with Deputy Public Prosecutor Gerome Goh that deterrence was the key consideration.

The judge said: "A stiff sentence is warranted especially since pressure and coercion was visited upon (the victim)."

Chellam requested to follow the girl on Instagram last year, and she accepted the request. They met in August that year.

She agreed to meet him again and asked him to buy the cider. On Sept 8 last year between 4.40pm and 5.20pm, they met at the girl's block in Yishun.

Chellam passed her the alcohol and asked her to follow him to the staircase landing, where he asked her for a kiss on the lips.

The girl declined but Chellam persisted, reminding her that he had helped her buy alcohol.

She agreed reluctantly but Chellam tried to put his tongue in her mouth, causing her to pull away.

TRIED TO LEAVE

She stood up to leave when he exposed himself but he held on to her hand and pulled it towards him.

Chellam then forced her to perform an obscene act on him for about three minutes.

Seeking at least eight month's jail, DPP Goh said: "The victim was afraid to leave as she feared for her safety."

Reading out a mitigation letter he had written in English, Chellam said he had not committed any offences during his three-year stay in Singapore.

He said: "I feel very remorseful and shameful for my crime."

Pleading for a lighter sentence, he said he had lost his job and but hoped to continue working here, having spent money on a safety coordinator course.

For sexually exploiting a young person below 16, he could have been fined up to $10,000 and/or jailed for up to five years.