Man accused of raping 12-year-old sent her sexually charged text messages
Man on trial for raping 12-year-old asked her to be his 'girlfriend' 30 minutes after first chatting with her
She told him she was 13 the first time they chatted, on May 27, 2012.
Just half an hour later, after a series of text messages, crane operator Lee Seow Peng, 39, asked the girl to be his girlfriend. At that time she was actually still 12, as she was a few days shy of turning 13.
Lee is now accused of one count each of rape, sexually grooming a minor and attempting to procure the commission of an indecent act by the girl. He allegedly committed these offences in May and June that year.
On the seventh day of his trial yesterday, the court heard that about two hours into the chat, he started talking about giving her a "good feel" (sic).
The chat became more sexually suggestive as it progressed. He later told her: "Love you so much."
Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Jasmine Chin-Sabado told the court that the pair chatted again the next day.
This time round, he asked the girl: "Kiss you where (sic)?"
He even suggested that they have sex in his car.
The court heard that the messages became more sexually explicit on May 29, 2012 - the day of the alleged rape.
Besides talking about sexual acts with her, he also messaged her about going to a "no people place" (sic) and a "lover will go place" (sic) where they could talk inside his car.
When DPP Chin-Sabado grilled him, he denied sexually grooming the child. He also denied that he had the intention of having sex with her.
He added: "I don't think that way. Just saying nonsense in the Internet world - couldn't put this in real life."
And he gave similar replies about 10 more times whenever the prosecution asked him why he had sent the girl such sexually charged and suggestive messages.
Lee also repeatedly stressed that he was just "patronising" the girl.
For instance, when DPP Chin-Sabado asked him yesterday if he was trying to make the girl believe that she was in a relationship with him, he replied: "I said such things in the Internet world. But I don't love her. It's just a game in the Internet world. It's not real."
Lee admitted that he met her on May 29, 2012. But he testified that he wanted to meet the girl only for coffee and denied having any sexual contact with her that day.
DPP Chin-Sabado then pointed out that there was a fall in the number of messages between the pair after that meeting. While there were 275 messages on May 29, 2012, the number dwindled to only eight by June 2 that year.
When she asked Lee if it was not important to message the girl as much any more as he had got what he wanted, he replied: "(I) disagree."
However, the prosecution pointed out that there were 131 messages on June 3, 2012 - the same day he started talking about sex with the girl again.
For instance, he talked about going to a hotel with her. He also talked about buying and using a sex toy on her.
When asked why he sent the girl such messages, he replied: "I was merely saying things."
The trial resumes today.
About the case
Lee Seow Peng is accused of raping a 12-year-old girl three days after meeting her through a mobile phone messaging app.
The crane operator, now 39, got in touch with the then-Secondary 1 student online on May 26, 2012, using Lucifer as his moniker.
They met three days later and he drove her to a carpark at the Chinese Garden, where he allegedly raped her in the backseat of his multi-purpose vehicle.
On June 3 that year, Lee allegedly attempted to arrange another meeting with the girl to have sex with her again.
Her mother discovered his message and the girl then told her about the alleged rape. The girl's parents then made a police report.
On Dec 16, Lee pleaded not guilty to one count each of rape, sexually grooming a minor and attempting to get the girl to perform an indecent act.
If found guilty of rape, Lee can be jailed up to 20 years and given at least 12 strokes of the cane. If convicted of sexually grooming a girl under 16, he can be jailed up to three years and fined.
On the third charge, he can be jailed up to five years and fined up to $10,000.
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