Man who was on the run for 10 years pleads guilty to violating 14-year-old boy in 2005

SINGAPORE - To escape punishment after he had violated a 14-year-old boy in 2005, Lim Leong Sze fled Singapore and was on the run for 10 years.

He absconded in 2010, shortly before he was to be charged for the offence, and was repatriated in February last year by the Malaysian authorities.

The 57-year-old Singaporean pleaded guilty in court on Friday (June 18) to one count of carnal intercourse against the order of nature under Section 377 of the Penal Code.

The court heard that Lim, who was a debt collector at the time of the offence, started talking to the Secondary 2 boy on Internet chat programme mIRC in September 2005, posing as a woman in her 20s under the moniker "Angel16".

The two later moved their conversation to MSN Messenger, where Lim asked the boy, who would be 30 years old this year, to perform a sex act in front of a webcam.

Thinking Lim was a woman, the boy complied. Lim secretly filmed him.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Chua Ying-Hong said the boy suspected something was wrong when he got a call on his home phone from an unidentified caller.

He asked Lim whether he was a boy or girl but Lim did not reply. Wary, the boy blocked Lim on MSN.

Lim called the victim again and told him that he had video footage of him.

He told the boy to repeat what he had done on the webcam again, failing which he would post the clip on the Internet, or tell his father about the incident. The boy complied.

Lim, asking the boy to be his "brother" , then suggested they meet. Still worried about the video, the boy agreed.

Over soya bean drinks in Geylang, Lim showed the boy obscene videos before taking him to his office, where he performed a sex act on the teenager.

In shock, the boy moved away and said he was uncomfortable.

Lim took him to a pub before sending him home.

On Sept 25, 2005, Lim once again asked the boy to perform a sexual act in front of the webcam.

The boy refused and reported the matter to the police two days later. Lim was arrested on Sept 29, 2005.

Court documents did not state how Lim escaped, or how he was found by the authorities.

In mitigation, Lim's lawyer Wee Hong Shern said no force or violence had been used on the victim and Lim's scheme did not involve a great deal of sophistication.

He added that Lim is remorseful and wants to turn over a new leaf.

Lim is due to be sentenced on July 12.

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