Delivery rider who sexually abused 15-year-old girl during religious lessons gets preventive detention

SINGAPORE: A food delivery rider who sexually abused a 15-year-old girl during religious lessons at his flat was on Tuesday (Dec 3) sentenced to the maximum 20 years in preventive detention.
Kamsari Jumari, 62, pleaded guilty in September to four counts of exploitative sexual penetration of a minor. Another 11 charges were considered in sentencing by the High Court.
The prosecution sought 20 years’ preventive detention. The defence asked for 15 years’ jail, with another eight months in lieu of caning as Kamsari is above 50 and cannot be caned.
Sentencing was adjourned at the time as Justice Dedar Singh Gill called for a report on Kamsari’s suitability for preventive detention.
On Tuesday, Justice Gill said he agreed with the prosecution that the jail term likely to be served by Kamsari would not be sufficient, including after the typical one-third remission of the term.
“The accused is a danger to minor females, particularly those who share a close relationship of trust with him. For their safety, I sentence the accused to 20 years’ preventive detention, backdated to the date of his remand, Apr 21, 2022,” the judge said.
Preventive detention involves confinement for a minimum of seven years and a maximum of 20 years.
This sentence is distinct from imprisonment, and is imposed in cases where the court deems the offender a recalcitrant one who must be detained for a substantial period of time to protect the public.
The court previously heard that the victim’s mother got to know Kamsari, a fellow food delivery rider, in late 2021. She learnt that Kamsari was also a religious teacher who gave classes at his home.
According to Kamsari’s defence lawyer, Kamsari is not an accredited Islamic religious teacher under the Asatizah Recognition Scheme, and the victim’s mother knew this when she hired him.
After her daughter ran away from home in January 2022, the victim’s mother sought Kamsari’s help to look out for her daughter. Kamsari suggested that the girl attend his religious classes.
The victim’s mother decided to send her daughter and three younger children to Kamsari’s flat for classes after discussing the issue with her husband.
She paid him about S$500 (US$384) for her four children to be taught between January 2022 and April 2022.
Instead, Kamsari started asking the girl sexual questions, showing her pornography and having sexually explicit conversations with her.
He would call her into the bedroom while her siblings were watching television in the living room and molest her.
This progressed to “increasingly intrusive” acts. The girl obeyed Kamsari’s instructions not to tell anyone as she felt she was “making a mistake” and feared reprisal from her father.
Around Apr 13, 2022, at Kamsari’s request, the victim’s mother gave him the girl’s mobile number, hoping he would counsel and guide the girl after she ran away from home again.
Four days later, the victim’s mother checked her daughter’s phone and was shocked to discover sexually explicit Telegram messages between Kamsari and her daughter.
When her mother confronted her, the girl revealed that Kamsari had sexually violated her during their classes. Her mother took her to the police station to lodge a report that same day.
The prosecution previously described Kamsari as a “career criminal” and sexual predator, with a long string of past convictions from 1977, when he got probation for theft.
During mitigation, the defence said there was “some sort of a romantic relationship” between Kamsari and the victim, and that he was genuinely concerned about her.
Kamsari’s lawyer also said his client had a supportive fiance who was aware of the case and had been visiting him consistently while in remand.
In his decision on Tuesday, Justice Gill noted that Kamsari’s history of crime is long, and started when he was 15.
The judge found that Kamsari’s prior conviction for sexual offences against two girls aged 11 and 12 was relevant to sentencing.
Kamsari was sentenced to eight years’ preventive detention at the time, but reoffended in the present case within two years of his release, the judge noted.
He added that Kamsari, as a religious teacher, was in a position of trust that he abused “for his perverted sexual desires”.
There was also clear premeditation and Kamsari exposed the victim to the risk of contracting sexually transmitted diseases, which were aggravating factors, the judge said.