A 40-year-old former police officer was sentenced to three years’ imprisonment and four strokes of the cane on Friday (May 29) for molesting a male secondary school student while disguised as a woman and secretly recording videos of underage boys.
The offences reportedly occurred while Sharizal Shafi’ee was still serving with the Singapore Police Force (SPF).
He left the force following the incident in June 2024.
Court documents revealed that on 18 April 2024, Sharizal left his home wearing a blue maxi dress, a brown hijab, and makeup.
At around 2.30pm, he approached three male students near a secondary school, claiming he needed help adjusting his bra.
Source: 52Hertz on Pixabay via Canva, for illustration purposes only.
While two students declined, the third, then aged 15, agreed, genuinely believing that Sharizal needed assistance.
After giving him instructions, Sharizal then groped the boy and rubbed his buttocks against the teenager.
The victim filed a police report later that evening, according to Shin Min Daily News.
Sharizal was arrested on 28 April 2024, and investigators discovered multiple illicit videos on his phone.
In a 12-minute clip, recorded on 31 July 2023, he captured a 15-year-old masturbating without the boy’s consent.
Sharizal admitted during the investigation that he had posed as a woman online to meet the teenager.
They communicated via text messages, during which he requested the victim to initiate a video call and masturbate in front of the camera.
Using the same tactic on 18 April 2024, Sharizal induced another 15-year-old boy he met online to masturbate during a video call and secretly recorded the entire process.
Sharizal did not distribute the videos.
Sharizal faced a total of 15 charges. He previously pleaded guilty to five charges, all involving sexual offences against three teen boys, then aged 15-years-old.
These are for procuring the commission of obscene acts, molestation and producing child abuse material.
The other ten charges were taken into consideration for sentencing. They included one amalgamated charge of voyeurism, as he had filmed footage of 32 men participating in sexual acts for around six months.
A gag order was imposed to protect the victim’s identity.
The prosecution highlighted that, even without direct skin-to-skin contact in some instances, Sharizal premeditatedly targeted a minor, deliberately disguised himself as a woman, and lured the victim to a secluded staircase.
They recommended a sentence of between 36 and 39 months’ imprisonment and six to eight strokes of the cane.
In mitigation, the defence lawyer stated that Sharizal had previously been a law-abiding citizen who had served in the police force for 17 years and received several commendations.
The lawyer added that the defendant is deeply remorseful and has taken proactive steps toward rehabilitation, pleading for a lighter sentence.
Eventually, the judge found the sentencing range proposed by the prosecution to be appropriate.
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Featured image adapted from MS News.