A man who stayed in a woman's flat when he came to Singapore in 2002 ended up molesting her son, then around 12 years old.
Former Singaporean John Chin Esau, who is now a New Zealander, went on to outrage the boy's modesty six more times from 2003 to 2008.
He finally stopped targeting the victim around 2009 when the latter told him that he had a girlfriend.
On April 15, Chin, 64, was sentenced to four years and nine months' jail. His lawyer told the court that he will be appealing against his conviction and sentence.
District Judge Shaiffudin Saruwan convicted Chin of seven molestation charges in March after a trial.
The victim cannot be named due to a gag order to protect his identity.
Deputy public prosecutors Santhra Aiyyasamy and June Ngian stated in their submissions that in 2000, Chin visited the woman, who was a friend, and her three children - the victim and his two younger sisters - in their flat about "one to three times" that year.
The court heard that Chin started showering with the victim during one of these visits.
"The victim recalled that the first time they showered together while naked was after a haircut session," the DPPs said.
"The accused gave the victim a haircut, and the victim felt he looked like a pineapple and cried.
"That was the first time the accused knelt and apologised to the victim by hugging the victim and saying (sorry) while he was naked. That was the first time the victim had seen a naked adult."
Court documents stated that they showered together about one or two more times after this and according to the victim, Chin taught him how to properly clean himself.
In 2002, Chin made one to three trips to Singapore and stayed in the guest room of the victim's home.
The prosecutors told the court that as the victim missed Chin, the boy would sleep with him and would wake up to the man performing a sexual act on him.
The court heard that the boy pretended to sleep and tried his best not to move his body.
The victim also recalled that he hugged a bolster or hid his head under a pillow.
The DPPs added that when the bolster blocked the boy's private parts, Chin would shift himself or move the victim's body.
Chin performed similar sexual acts on the boy on multiple occasions until 2008.
The prosecutors said: "Between 2008 and 2009, the victim formed a relationship with his (polytechnic classmate) and told the accused about this relationship. Thereafter, the accused stopped (doing the sexual acts) on the victim.
"Some time later, the accused asked if the victim had sex with his girlfriend, and the victim admitted having done so. Upon hearing this, the accused advised the victim that sex should be for marriage."
The victim later sought legal advice on whether sexual assault could take place even though there was no penetration. He finally made a police report in 2023. The man is now 34 years old.
"He was determined to find out whether what was done to him was wrong, and, if it was, how he could go about trying to bring the accused to justice," said the prosecutors.
During the trial, Chin, who was represented by lawyer Eric Tin, denied molesting the victim.
While he acknowledged that he had showered naked with the victim, he did not admit to touching the latter's private parts.
Chin's bail has been set at $30,000.
