HE WAS known as a generous and religious man and his neighbours’ children treated him as an older brother.

They trusted him so much that their daughter, R, used to stay with him and his two “wives”. They sang karaoke, played with cats and he even advised her to wear the hijab.

She was 13 then and told The Straits Times that they developed feelings for each other. Her own family was crumbling and he was there for her. But he also repeatedly had sex with her.

No one – neither the neighbours nor his wives – suspected then that this person with his masculine manners was, in fact, a woman.

The victim, now 18, says she still suffers nightmares and can hardly sleep. “She took advantage of my family situation, betrayed my trust and destroyed our lives.”

This unusual case has come under the spotlight after Senior Judge Kan Ting Chiu on Tuesday acquitted 39-year-old Zunika Ahmad of six counts of sexual penetration of a minor, to which she had pleaded guilty.

He reasoned that only a man can be charged with such a crime given the way Section 376(A) of the Penal Code, enacted in 2007, was written.

He added it was up to the legislature to amend the provision to make it clear that it includes women, if that was indeed the intention.

Zunika was found guilty of one count of sexual exploitation under the Children and Young Persons Act and given an eight-month jail sentence.

The victim was saddened that Zunika, who faced 20 charges of penetrating her with a dildo, was acquitted of nearly every charge.

“The same thing could happen to other young children,” she said.

Her real name is not used to protect her identity.

The teenager currently lives with a younger sister, an older brother and their parents in a four-room public flat.

Seven years ago, they got to know Zunika, her “wives” and a child of one of the women.

Though Zunika had no facial hair, her deep voice, masculine demeanour and that he was “married” gave her neighbours no reason to suspect her real gender.

“My family trusted her because she has her own family and seemed very religious,” said the victim.

In 2012, when she was around 13, R and two of her siblings began to spend most of their time in Zunika’s flat.

R said she chose to live with Zunika as her own family was crumbling. Frequent quarrels between parents saw her mother leave home for six months.

Her siblings had their own problems.

Zunika provided the children with pocket money, even giving them mobile phones to use.

But R was allowed to leave only for school, after which she had to come home to clean the flat.

If she was late or did not do her chores well, she alleged that Zunika would hit her.

But she put up with it because she thought she was in love with Zunika, who had promised to marry her when she turned 16.

The sexual abuse first started in February 2012, with a kiss. The next month, they had sex, with Zunika using a dildo. This happened at least once nearly every month until December 2013.

R never suspected that Zunika, who wore T-shirts and three-quarter pants at home, was a woman.

“When Zunika was menstruating, she told me it was because she had a stomach tumour. She was also taking a lot of hormone pills but she told me those were to control the growth of her beard,” she said.

In March 2014, according to court documents, Zunika argued with the victim over text messages.

She allegedly slapped and punched R, then chased her out of the house.

Two days later, R’s sister told Zunika the victim would no longer stay over as the relationship had turned sexual. The family went to the police.

They were shocked when police told them Zunika was a woman.

This was when Zunika’s two “wives” also found out her real gender. Till then, Zunika, who had a fake Indonesian passport with a man’s identity, had told them that they must not touch or see her private parts for superstitious reasons.

Though her parents have reconciled and she has a boyfriend now, R, who works part-time, still has nightmares and manages to fall asleep only after 4am every day.

“I thought she was a man when she took my virginity, so why can’t she be charged like a man?” asked R.

According to her lawyer, Zunika intends to go for gender reassignment surgery once she has served her jail term and reunites with her two “wives”.

jantai@sph.com.sg

azhaki@sph.com.sg

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THE Muslim community is stepping up its efforts to counter extremist influences online, at a time when radical groups abuse the Internet as a platform for their views.

The religious education curriculum already includes lessons that help inoculate youth against online radicalisation, Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs Yaacob Ibrahim told Parliament yesterday.

The Mufti’s office at the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (Muis) and the Religious Rehabilitation Group – which counsels radicalised persons – are developing print as well as online material to guide the wider community on the issue.

Dr Yaacob was responding to Malay/Muslim MPs at the debate on the budget for the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth. Muis is a statutory board under its purview.

The above efforts are part of a range of measures that he outlined, which aim to build a progressive Muslim community that strengthens Singapore’s multi-religious society.

Dr Yaacob, who is Minister for Communications and Information, noted that Singapore Muslims have long been guided by the principles of moderation and respect for different races and religions.

And, while it will be increasingly difficult to try and balance competing views and interests, the community must instil, especially among youth, an appreciation of diversity.

“To me, being progressive is the ability to understand the modern world with an open mind and heart… We need to be well-read and be respectful as we balance differences in ideas, concerns and interests and gain a consensus to find the best possible solution,” he said.

To better guide the community, Muis will work to build the capabilities of religious teachers.

Some 80 per cent of religious teachers are registered under the Asatizah Recognition Scheme, and Muis will discuss with them how to enhance it and get the remaining 20 per cent – some of whom are informally trained – on board.

To better guide those seeking Islamic religious education abroad, Muis will enhance its Student Welfare and Careers Office. It will also share knowledge on how Muslims in multi-cultural societies like Singapore practise their faith in a multi-racial society.

And to ensure there are enough prayer spaces for Muslims, 15 mosques have been upgraded and two built since 2009. Maarof Mosque in Jurong West will open later this year and the Yusof Ishak Mosque in Woodlands next year.

When current projects are ready by 2018, there will be 24,700 more prayer spaces compared with 2009.

Dr Yaacob also said the site for the new mosque in Tampines North has been decided: along Tampines Avenue 10, in the heart of the future Tampines North town.

Madrasah Al-Arabiah in Lorong 6 Toa Payoh will also have a new home, next to its current premises.

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SINGAPORE’S history is objectively presented, and no “standard” or “official” account is imposed, said Minister of Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY) Grace Fu.

Speaking in Parliament yesterday during the debate on her ministry’s budget, she added that the National Heritage Board is “open and consultative” in its curation of history, and invites visitors “to examine different perspectives and engage in critical thinking”.

She was responding to Low Thia Khiang (Aljunied GRC), who had called for NHB exhibitions to present different interpretations of Singapore’s history to encourage critical thinking and educate citizens.

“It is time we move away from representations of a ‘standard’ or ‘official’ history,” he said.

The Workers’ Party chief said that while learning Singapore history contributes to having a stronger national identity, this can be achieved only if history is presented in a manner that encourages students to consider multiple perspectives and think critically.

“This will also reduce students’ and parents’ perceptions of using history as government propaganda,” he added.

Citing the recently launched Parliament in Singapore History exhibition at The Arts House, Mr Low said it could present different interpretations from the perspectives of pioneer statesmen, ruling party backbenchers, opposition party members, women members and minority members.

In response, Ms Fu said these groups were represented in the visuals and text of the exhibition. She gave the example of how opposition veteran Chiam See Tong’s quote on being an opposition party member in Parliament was prominently highlighted.

She also brought up examples from the National Museum’s Singapore History Gallery, which has a showcase displaying published political material leading up to the 1962 Referendum on Merger with the Federation of Malaya.

This showcase presents two alternative political perspectives published at the time, Ms Fu said.

She added that NHB “draws widely on local and international experts in curating exhibitions”.

She said: “In particular on Singapore history, the National Museum is advised by senior historians from our universities who are acknowledged in their fields.”

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SINGAPORE’S fourth desalination plant, which is set to be completed in 2019, will be the first to treat both fresh and seawater.

When operational, the plant will meet the water needs of the central and eastern parts of the island.

National water agency PUB will call for a tender today for the construction of the plant in Marina East, which will be able to produce up to 30 million gallons of fresh drinking water a day.

PUB said in a press release yesterday that the successful bidder will design, build, own and operate the desalination plant.

The building of the fourth plant is part of the Government’s plan to expand its desalination and Newater capacities to meet up to 85 per cent of Singapore’s water needs by 2060.

Associate Professor Darren Sun from the Nanyang Technological University’s School of Civil and Environmental Engineering said that in the light of climate change, water sustainability is a major concern for Singapore.

“We need to build resilience to combat climate change in long periods without rain,” he added.

“The versatile plant will enable us to continuously produce high-quality water from both seawater and freshwater from the marina catchment, while maintaining healthy water levels in the reservoirs.”

Singapore currently has two desalination plants. Both are in Tuas and together can produce a total of 100 million gallons of water a day.

The construction of a third plant in Tuas is expected to be completed next year. This will add another 30 million gallons of water a day to Singapore’s supply.

William Yeo, PUB’s director of policy and planning, said: “Like Newater, desalinated water is independent of rainfall and can be used to supplement our other water sources during dry weather.”

During the debate on the Ministry of Environment and Water Resources’ budget on Tuesday, Minister Masagos Zulkifli said he was worried about the challenge that extreme weather patterns stemming from climate change could pose to water sustainability.

Water levels in the Linggiu reservoir, which helps to supply half of Singapore’s water needs, fell to a new historic low of 36.9 per cent on Tuesday.

Singapore’s current water demand stands at about 430 million gallons of water per day. This could more than double by 2060, with non-domestic demand estimated to make up 70 per cent of overall water use.

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