According to The Straits Times, the youth, now 20 years old, had told the police that he sexually assaulted the child as he was addicted to pornography. He also admitted to molesting her twice between March 16 and June 27 in 2020.

The victim’s mother first suspected something amiss when she saw her daughter sitting on the lap of the accused while watching a video on a tablet.

“She thought they looked as if they were hiding something from her and confronted the accused,” the Singapore daily quoted deputy public prosecutor Sheldon Lim as saying.

The accused later admitted to molesting his cousin. The victim’s mother then lodged a police report.

The accused, however, admitted to feeling guilty about touching the victim “but continued doing so because of his hentai (animated pornography) addiction”.

District judge Kessler Soh subsequently called for the accused to be assessed for probation and reformative training before sentencing.

In Singapore, a person found guilty of using criminal force on a minor under 14-years-old can be jailed for up to five years, fined, caned, or any combination of the three.