Food delivery rider who doubled as religious teacher admits sexual offences against 15-year-old girl

SINGAPORE: When a woman came to know that her fellow food delivery rider was also a religious teacher, she sent her four children to his place to take religious lessons.
The lessons were meant in part for her 15-year-old daughter, who often ran away from home, but the 60-year-old man’s flat later became a place for him to sexually abuse the girl over three months.
It later emerged that he had a long string of past convictions, ranging from theft and drugs, and had been released from a stint of preventive detention – a sentence for recalcitrant offenders to protect the public from them.
Kamsari Jumari, now 62, pleaded guilty in the High Court on Monday (Sep 9) to four counts of exploitative sexual penetration of a minor. Another 11 charges will be considered in sentencing.
The prosecution sought the maximum 20 years’ preventive detention for him, saying he was a “menace to society” and the public needed to be protected from him.
The defence asked instead for 15 years’ jail, with another eight months in lieu of caning as Kamsari is above 50 and cannot be caned.
The victim’s mother got to know Kamsari in late 2021 as they both delivered food. She learnt that he was also a religious teacher who gave classes at his home.
In January 2022, the victim ran away from home, prompting her mother to lodge a police report.
She sought Kamsari’s help to look out for the girl, who was in Secondary 4.
After the police brought the girl home, her mother confided in Kamsari, saying she often ran away. 
Kamsari then suggested that she attend his religious classes.
The victim’s mother discussed the issue with her husband and decided to send her daughter and her three younger siblings to Kamsari’s flat for religious classes.
She paid Kamsari about S$500 (US$384) for her four children to be taught between January 2022 and April 2022.
However, Kamsari developed a “sexual attraction” towards the victim soon after she started attending his classes.
Between January and February 2022, the victim and her siblings went to Kamsari’s flat for the classes.
While the victim’s siblings were watching television in the living room, Kamsari called the victim into a bedroom for “a counselling session”.
He then asked her sexual questions and showed her a pornographic video on his phone.
After this, he continued having sexually explicit conversations with the girl.
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.
Kamsari told the girl that “normal sex” could lead to pregnancy and suggested other sex acts instead.
In March 2022, the victim ran away from home and stopped attending Kamsari’s classes.
Around Apr 13, 2022, the victim’s mother told Kamsari that the girl had returned home.
Kamsari said he was worried about the girl, as she had previously confessed to him that she had consumed beer.
On his request, the victim’s mother provided the victim’s mobile number, hoping Kamsari would counsel and guide the girl.
The next day, Kamsari contacted the girl on Telegram while she was in school. He asked if her mother checked her messages and suggested using the Telegram chat application to communicate instead, as it was “more private”.
He knew that he could delete messages on Telegram and did not want others to see what he had sent to the victim.
On Apr 17, 2022, the victim’s mother checked her daughter’s phone and was shocked to discover sexually explicit Telegram messages between Kamsari and her daughter.
The messages included Kamsari asking the girl to do a “project” involving sexual acts with him and asking her if she wanted to watch a video of his friend having sex with her husband.
The victim’s mother confronted her daughter. The girl revealed that Kamsari had sexually violated her during the religious classes, and her mother took her to the police station to lodge a report that same day.
Deputy Public Prosecutors Sruthi Boppana and Colin Ng asked for a report to be called for assess Kamsari’s suitability for preventive detention.
Ms Boppana said religious teachers “hold a revered and influential role in the community”, serving as role models and sources of wisdom, but Kamsari “severely betrayed this sacred trust”.
She said Kamsari is a “career criminal” with a long string of past convictions from 1977, when he got probation for theft.
His most recent sentence was in August 2012, when he received eight years’ preventive detention for drug consumption and insulting the modesty of a woman.
He had also committed sexual offences against two girls aged 11 and 12.
Ms Boppana said Kamsari is a sexual predator who targets female minors who share a relationship of trust with him.
“He has shown himself yet again to be nothing short of a menace to society,” said Ms Boppana, adding that the only way to protect society and minors from Kamsari was to ensure he is kept away for as long as possible.
Kamsari was represented by Mr Lee Shen Han from Bonsai Law under the Criminal Legal Aid Scheme.
He said there was “some sort of a romantic relationship” between Kamsari and the victim, and that he was genuinely concerned about her.
He said the “spontaneous nature” of one incident could be gleaned from how it occurred with Kamsari’s wife just outside.
Kamsari also did not close or lock the door, said Mr Lee.
He did not dispute that Kamsari had a “chequered record”, but stated life expectancy statistics and said an extended term of imprisonment or the prosecution’s submission for 20 years’ preventive detention “more or less means he will spend the rest of his natural life in prison”.
Mr Lee said his client was “not beyond redemption and too recalcitrant for reformation”, and said there was no “violent crime” in his past convictions.
In his mitigation plea, Mr Lee said Kamsari has a supportive fiance who is aware of the case and has been visiting him consistently while in remand.
They intend to get married after his release. Kamsari was working as a Grab driver before he was remanded, and he has three children from his previous marriage, said Mr Lee.
He added that Kamsari is not an accredited Islamic religious teacher under the Asatizah Recognition Scheme and did not tell the victim’s mother that he was.
The victim’s mother knew that Kamsari was not accredited when she hired him, said Mr Lee.
The degree of abuse of position and breach of trust is not as high as that of a proper teacher-and-pupil relationship, he said.
Justice Dedar Singh Gill said it would be expedient for the protection of the public that Kamsari be detained in custody for a substantial period of time.
He called for a report to be submitted on Kamsari’s physical and mental condition, as well as his suitability for preventive detention.
Sentencing was adjourned until after the report comes in.