Jail, cane for 'Lucifer' who raped girl, 12, at Chinese Garden
A crane operator was jailed 12 years and given nine strokes of the cane on Wednesday (April 13) for raping a 12-year-old girl in 2012.
Lee Seow Peng, 40, was convicted in January of one count each of rape, sexually grooming the minor and attempting to get the girl to perform an indecent act.
His eight-day trial lasted between December 2015 and January this year.
On May 26, 2012, the girl, who was then in Secondary 1, met Lee through a mobile phone messaging app.
He used Lucifer as his moniker.
They met three days later when he picked her up in his car near her school.
He drove her to a carpark at the Chinese Garden and raped her in the back seat of his multi-purpose vehicle.
On June 3 that year, Lee tried to arrange another sexual encounter with the girl.
But her mother discovered his message and the girl told her what had happened.
Her parents filed a police report.
In January this year, Judicial Commissioner, Hoo Sheau Peng, said in her oral judgment the sexually-charged messages exchanged between Lee and the girl before the incident on May 29, 2012, showed his intention to have sex with her.
The judge convicted Lee of all three charges.
On Wednesday (April 13), defence lawyer, Mr Kartar Singh, said Lee would be appealing against both the conviction and sentence.
Get the full story in our print edition (April 14).
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