Commentary: Teenage Issues

Section:	Home
By:	ELENA CHONG
Publication:	The Straits Times 12/02/2008
Page:	H4
No. of words:	272

A TEENAGE girl lost a dare and had to give a man a kiss.

But after the smack on the lips, the man took it further, meeting her in a toilet near a condominium pool, where they then had sex.

The problem: She was only 15 at that time, underaged under the law.

Six months later and heavily pregnant, the teen reported full-time national serviceman Muhammad Firdaus Samsudin De Rozario, 23, to the police.

Yesterday, he was sent to jail for four months for having had sex with a girl under the age of 16.

This was Firdaus' second such offence. In 2000, the then 16-year-old had been jailed for three months after admitting to multiple charges of having had sex with an underage girl.

In the latest case, the girl alleged in her police report that she was 15 when she had sex with her "ex-boyfriend" in the toilet on Dec10, 2006.

When the facts were read to him in court, Firdaus denied being that "ex-boyfriend", but pleaded guilty.

A district court heard that the girl had gone to the condominium in Choa Chu Kang with her female friend to meet two male friends.

Firdaus, who knew the two men, joined them later.

The group drank beer and started playing a game of "truth or dare".

During one round, the girl was dared to kiss Firdaus.

She obligingly did so.

After that, Firdaus walked towards the toilet near the swimming pool.

The girl followed him in and they had sex.

The offence carries a maximum punishment of five years' jail and a $10,000 fine.

ELENA CHONG




There have been many cases of teenage sex in Singapore, and such is the example stated above. Here is a startling fact: The number of teenage abortions in 2005 was 1279 and the number in 2006 was 1391. Just over a year, the number of cases have risen by over 100. You many ask - Why is this happening? In the above case, the teenage girl only had sex with Firdaus because of a dare to kiss him.

Firdaus was sentenced to four months in jail, and it was his second time having sex with an underage girl. Many may ask - Why did he do so? After reading the article, we do not know. We will not know the reasons he had, nor why the girl obliged. What are the reasons contributing to their actions? Why did they dare her to kiss him in the first place?

Surveys have shown that parents have to pay more attention to their child. Would the cause of the above case be due to parenting problems? Nowadays, teenagers are thinking that their friends are closer to them than their parents and family members. When a teenager was asked "Who is closer to you, your parents or your friends, and why?" His answer was "Of course my friends are closer! My parents don't really care, they just give me my pocket money and go off to work, and I spend most of my time with my friends." Parents are not spending enough time with their children, and when their children are in the "rebellious stage", they have to give more of their time to their children. Most families have both parents working until late hours and leave their child at home himself. Parents must show more care and concern for their children and make sure they do not go astray. Without their love towards their child, he mindset will be that of "I can do whatever I want, since my parents don't care about me."

Influence by friends also plays a big part in the problem that teens face. If they are already not cared for by their parents, they would turn to their friends. If their friends are of bad influence, there is a very high chance that he would want to blend in with his friends, and also do commit these illegal acts. Friends also have to show more concern for the teenager, and if they know that he already is being neglected, they should help him and not encourage him to do all the illegal things.

Most importantly, the society has to show more regard to these teenagers, and not discriminate them. Many are disregarding them, thinking "They are just teenagers, if they go bad, then they cannot be saved." They have to put in more effort to help these teens and they cannot discriminate them because of their differences.

They are human too. We have to respect them and help them in times of need. They are still growing. We can change them.

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