> 13yo teen boy allegedly sexually abused in ‘cleansing ritual’

13 November 2009 A 43-year-old man has been hauled to court for allegedly sexually abusing a teenaged boy.

Rahim Basron, who is now in remand, has claimed trial to four charges in all. It is believed he sexually abused a 13-year-old student on two different occasions in 2006.

Rahim first met the boy in 2005 near his home in the western part of Singapore.

When cross-examined by the Deputy Public Prosecutor Ramu Miyapan, the slim, bespectacled boy said that Rahim called out to him and he responded by going forward forward.

The boy, now 16 years old, added that Rahim then proceeded to advice him not to smoke or mix with bad company. Rahim continued to befriend him and even met up with the boy’s parents in 2006.

During school holidays later, the boy started to accompany Rahim to sell food at different places in Singapore.

The boy told Justice Tay Yong Kwang that Rahim punched him in the stomach on more than two occasions, after he made mistakes when counting their takings for the day. So the boy lived in fear of Rahim as he did not want to be hit again.

It is believed the boy was sexually assaulted for the first time in November 2006 after he brought Rahim to his home when his family members were out. Rahim reportedly asked if he knew a Muslim cleansing ritual known as “mandi hadas”. He then allegedly told the boy to undress and join him in the bathroom.

Rahim then allegedly proceeded to sexually abuse him. It is believed the boy was sexually assaulted again in the same flat in December 2006.

The alleged crimes came to light when a policeman and a cleric from a mosque came to the boy’s home in 2008 to question him about Rahim’s actions.

Rahim, who is not represented by a lawyer, denied punching and sexually abusing the boy. Instead, he said the boy tried to frame him due to a grudge, after he turned down a request from the boy and his mother to lend them money.

The trial continues. If convicted, Rahim could be jailed for more than ten years and receive up to 24 strokes of the cane.