Teen found guilty of impregnating 15-year-old, instigating her to bury stillborn child

SINGAPORE — A teenage boy and his girlfriend were just 14 and 15 years old when they had sex and the girl got pregnant.

Concealing the pregnancy from their parents, the teenagers decided to abort the foetus on their own.

Their methods, which they found online, included the girl inserting a clothes hanger into her body in an attempt to pull the foetus out, taking abortion pills, and having her stomach punched and kneed by the boy.

The girl gave birth to a stillborn son in June 2021.

She kept the foetus in her cabinet for two days before burying the body in the garden of her house at the instigation of her boyfriend.

On Dec 13, the boy, who was from a top school, was found guilty of sexual penetration of a minor and abetting her in concealing the birth by burying the child.

He cannot be named as he was a minor at the time of the offence.

The court heard that the teenagers were secondary school classmates and began a romantic relationship in May 2020.

The boy, now 18, would have sex with his girlfriend in his bedroom which he shared with his brother, when the latter was not home.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Gan Ee Kiat said the accused did not use condoms as he found it difficult to buy them due to his age.

In January 2021, the girl suspected that she was pregnant as she felt nauseous and missed her period. The boy then bought a pregnancy test kit online for her.

After finding out about the pregnancy, the couple tried to abort the foetus on their own, but their various attempts failed.

On June 10, 2021, the girl experienced labour pains and gave birth to their stillborn son alone in her bedroom, with her boyfriend on video call.

She cut the umbilical cord with a pair of scissors. The accused then told her to cut the placenta into small pieces, flush them away and bury the foetus.

The girl wrapped the foetus in newspaper and hid it in her cabinet, but her boyfriend told her that it was inappropriate and risky to keep it in the house.

Two days later, she buried it in the garden of her home and would sit there to grieve from time to time.

The couple ended their relationship in March 2022.

A month later, the girl's mother found that she was exceptionally quiet and asked if anything was wrong.

The girl told her mother what happened and lodged a police report.

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DPP Gan said he does not object to the calling of either a probation suitability report or a reformative training report.

Defence lawyer Choo Si Sen urged the court to assess his client's suitability for reformative training only if he is found unsuitable for probation.

He added that his client was going to the army in January to serve national service.

Reformative training is a more severe punishment than probation and results in a criminal record. It involves being detained in a reformative training centre for six to 12 months to attend rehabilitative programmes and counselling.

A probation order may include attending the programmes recommended by a probation officer and abiding by a curfew.

District Judge Kessler Soh called for a probation suitability report, saying he would not be asking for a reformative training report at this juncture.

The accused is set to be sentenced on Jan 24.

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

For sexual penetration of a minor, an offender can be jailed for up to 20 years and fined or caned.

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