17-year-old boy charged with instigating girl, then 16, to secretly dispose body of infant in 2021

A 17-year-old student of a popular school in Singapore has been charged with helping a teenage girl to bury the body of a child, and has also been handed a separate charge of sexual penetration of a minor.

There is a gag order on the identities of the parties involved.

The teenager was charged on Friday with abetting a girl, who was 16 then, to conceal the birth of a child by secretly disposing of the infant's body.

According to court documents, he allegedly instigated the girl to conceal the birth by burying the body in the front yard of an undisclosed location on June 10, 2021.

The teenager was also charged with the sexual penetration of a minor. He allegedly had sex with a 15-year-old girl in a Housing Board unit some time in July 2020.

According to his lawyer, the boy is still studying at the school and is out on bail. He will return to court on August 7.

If convicted, he can be jailed for up to two years, fined, or both for abetting the concealment of birth by secret disposal of a dead body.

He can be jailed for up to 20 years and fined or caned for the sexual penetration of a minor.

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This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.