{"id":77193,"date":"2026-08-17T18:32:47","date_gmt":"2026-08-17T10:32:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=77193"},"modified":"2026-08-17T18:32:47","modified_gmt":"2026-08-17T10:32:47","slug":"religious-influencer-jailed-for-sexual-abuse-of-2-brothers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=77193","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Religious influencer\u2019 jailed for sexual abuse of 2 brothers"},"content":{"rendered":"


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SINGAPORE \u2013 A self-styled \u201creligious influencer\u201d, who became a father figure to two brothers because their parents were absent from their lives, sexually abused them instead of protecting the young boys.<\/p>\n

He repeatedly raped the younger brother, who was then between six and eight years old, at various locations, including in a toilet at the mosque where they often prayed together.<\/p>\n

The man later directed his attention to the older boy, who was 11 to 12 years old, and molested him on several occasions.<\/p>\n

On Aug 17, the 37-year-old man was sentenced to a total of 27 years and 10 months\u2019 jail and 24 strokes of the cane.<\/p>\n

He pleaded guilty to three charges of rape and two charges of outrage of modesty. Another 12 charges for various sexual offences were considered during sentencing.<\/p>\n

Aside from sexual offences against the two brothers, the man admitted to molesting three other victims, including a 17-year-old boy who had treated him as a \u201cbig brother\u201d and religious mentor.<\/p>\n

The man\u2019s name, his social media handles and the name of the mosque where the rapes occurred cannot be published due to a gag order to protect the victims\u2019 identities.<\/p>\n

In sentencing, High Court judge Kwek Mean Luck said the man\u2019s offences were \u201cutterly abhorrent and heinous\u201d.<\/p>\n

In a statement to the media, the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (MUIS) said it strongly condemned the \u201cserious sexual offences involving youth victims at mosque premises\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur mosques must always be safe and trusted spaces, especially for our children and young people.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe accused is not a mosque staff member or volunteer, nor is he an asatizah accredited under the Asatizah Recognition Scheme (ARS),\u201d said MUIS, which added that individuals who appear or present themselves as religious should not automatically be regarded as qualified religious teachers.<\/p>\n

It said Muslims should seek guidance from ARS-accredited asatizah, who meet recognised standards of training and professional conduct.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In light of this case, MUIS said it will strengthen existing security measures, both in the online space and within the mosques, including patrols and CCTV monitoring.<\/p>\n

It added: \u201cSafeguarding, however, extends beyond our mosque premises.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs more religious engagement takes place online, parents, mosque leaders, asatizah and the wider community have an important role in helping our young recognise trusted sources, navigate online interactions safely and speak up when something does not seem right.\u201d<\/p>\n

TikTok presence<\/h2>\n

The two brothers were cared for by their maternal grandmother.<\/p>\n

Their father abandoned them after divorcing their mother, while their mother was admitted to the Drug Rehabilitation Centre from October 2021 to October 2023.<\/p>\n

The offender, who was married with no children, operated a TikTok account where he made short videos mainly about religion. He was never officially recognised as an Islamic and Quranic teacher, said prosecutors.<\/p>\n

In April 2022, the older boy chanced upon the man at the mosque and recognised him from his TikTok account. He introduced himself to the man, and they became close.<\/p>\n

The man took the boy to play football with his friends and to his home several times, and the boy told the man about his family issues.<\/p>\n

The boy also told his grandmother about the man, describing him as a popular \u201cinfluencer\u201d. The grandmother asked the boy to invite the man home so she could assess him in person.<\/p>\n

She found him to be \u201cvery religious\u201d and learnt that he was a childhood friend of her two sons. She also watched his TikTok videos and noticed that they pertained mainly to religion.<\/p>\n

After she was convinced to trust him, the man began sending the older boy to school daily. He also visited the grandmother\u2019s flat, occasionally taking his wife along.<\/p>\n

Over time, the accused got to know the younger boy, who recognised him as a \u201cfamous TikToker\u201d.<\/p>\n

He started to separately spend time with the younger boy alone, taking him to the mosque to pray, playing with him, fetching him from school and taking him out to eat.<\/p>\n

At some point, the man told the grandmother that he would like to be a father figure and a religious guide to the two boys. Since then, the boys called him \u201cdaddy\u201d, and he addressed them as his \u201csons\u201d.<\/p>\n

He brought them to his home to sleep over and spend time with his wife, and took them to the mosque for morning prayers.<\/p>\n

He told his wife, with whom he had been trying to conceive, that they were blessed since they were entrusted with the care of the two boys.<\/p>\n

Some time between 2022 and 2023, the man raped the younger boy at his home after promising him a toy gun.<\/p>\n

The man told boy they were just \u201chaving fun\u201d and that if he told anyone what happened, that would mean that he did not \u201clove Daddy and Daddy (would) go to jail\u201d.<\/p>\n

Deputy Public Prosecutor Hidayat Amir said the boy agreed to keep the incident a \u201csecret\u201d because he was afraid the man would scold him.<\/p>\n

Following this incident, the man raped the boy in his home on several other occasions. He also developed the term \u201csecret\u201d with the younger boy as a codename to refer to the sexual act.<\/p>\n

Around this time, the two boys began going to the mosque for five days a week, spending about an hour with other friends attending a religious class which the man conducted.<\/p>\n

After their first class, the man told the older brother to stay put while he took the younger boy to the toilet on the first level and told him that it was a \u201csecret\u201d.<\/p>\n

The man then raped the boy inside a cubicle in the toilet. Following this incident, the man raped the boy in the mosque several more times.<\/p>\n

The man also took the boy to his own mother\u2019s home and raped him in his childhood bedroom.<\/p>\n

He gave the victim toys as a reward after the incidents or told him they were his way of \u201cpunishing\u201d the boy for being \u201cnaughty\u201d.<\/p>\n

In early 2024, the man visited the grandmother\u2019s home and asked to speak to the older boy. At a nearby staircase landing, the man touched boy\u2019s groin area over his clothes.<\/p>\n

He texted the boy about the incident on April 2, 2024, and asked the victim to keep the incident a secret as \u201cDaddy loves (you)\u201d.<\/p>\n

On April 13, 2024, while the brothers were visiting their relatives for Hari Raya, the younger boy asked his mother, who was released from DRC, if the sexual acts that the man had carried out on him were wrong.<\/p>\n

When she asked further, he told her that the man committed such acts on him. Shortly after, the older brother also told his mother that the man had touched him.<\/p>\n

The two boys then told their mother\u2019s godbrother that the man had sexually assaulted them, and the godbrother asked to meet the offender for an explanation.<\/p>\n

The offender initially claimed that he could not have sexually assaulted the boys because he suffered from erectile dysfunction.<\/p>\n

When the mother continued to question the man, he eventually admitted that he had sexually assaulted the boys, but claimed he had done so under the control of a \u2018djinn\u2019, or a supernatural spirit.<\/p>\n

The police were called, and the man was arrested on the same day.<\/p>\n

Self-hatred<\/h2>\n

A psychiatric report from the Institute of Mental Health stated that although the man has paedophilic disorder, it was not a contributory link to the offences.<\/p>\n

The younger boy developed self-hatred and suicidal thoughts and harmed himself by hitting his head against the wall.<\/p>\n

The older boy also developed suicidal thoughts and had trouble trusting people at the mosque as some of them would ask him about the incident.<\/p>\n

The two brothers also grew apart, as the younger boy blamed his brother for getting acquainted with the man, while the older boy blamed himself for bringing the man into the family.<\/p>\n

On Aug 17, the man\u2019s lawyer, Selvarajan Balamurugan, accepted that the acts on the young victims were \u201cvile\u201d and caused terrible harm, especially to the younger boy. The lawyer said his client wished to sincerely apologise to the victims and their families and to seek forgiveness.<\/p>\n

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Helplines<\/h2>\n

Mental well-being<\/h2>\n
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