23-6-2023 (SINGAPORE) A 17-year-old boy was charged in court on Friday (Jun 23) with two counts, including sexual penetration of a 15-year-old girl and instigating her to hide the body of her dead baby 10 months later. Singapore Teenager Charged with Sexual Penetration and Concealment of Baby’s Body
The accused cannot be named due to legal restrictions that protect the identity of the victim. He faces one charge of sexually penetrating a minor in a Housing Board flat in July 2020, and another charge of instigating the girl, who was 16 at the time, to conceal the birth of her child on Jun 10, 2021.
According to charge sheets, the boy allegedly prompted the girl to bury the baby’s body secretly in the front yard of a location that has been redacted.
Under Singapore’s Penal Code, it is an offense to conceal the birth of a child by secretly disposing of the body, regardless of whether the child died before, during, or after birth.
The teenager was granted bail of S$15,000 and will return to court in August.
If convicted of sexual penetration of a minor, he could face up to 20 years in prison, a fine, or caning. If found guilty of abetting by instigating the girl to conceal the birth of her child, he could be imprisoned for up to two years, fined, or both.
