‘Children’s cries reach you’: CID officer handles child sexual abuse cases

SINGAPORE – The Singaporean man met the teenager in his country, and they became a couple when she was around 16 years old.

She came to Singapore to stay with him, but he then asked her to become a prostitute to help him pay off his debts.

She agreed to do it when she was 18 and when they were stopped by the police, she defended him even though he took advantage of her.

The case marked Inspector Bryan Ang Tai Yong, 38, a senior investigator with the Specialized Crime Branch of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID).

It focuses on material offenses related to child sexual abuse, which most people call child pornography.

Inspector Ang, who has been with the branch for 11 years, said it took a long time before the victim confided in him and the man was jailed.

He said: “This girl is well educated and comes from a normal family. She told me she may have developed Stockholm syndrome and felt sorry for the man.

Stockholm syndrome refers to an emotional response in which victims of abuse experience positive feelings or sympathy toward an abuser.

The young girl finally returned to her country.

In addition to investigating cases of physical sexual abuse, Inspector Ang also digs into cyberspace to expose these crimes.

He said advances in technology have made it easier for abusers to approach children by creating fake online accounts and posing as younger people.

After spending time talking to potential victims, they persuade them to send them intimate photos or videos of themselves.

Predators then force these children to provide more material through extortion.

Inspector Ang’s job is to sift through these images to look for possible victims who may need rescuing, as some may be held captive by their attackers.

But viewing such images can have harmful consequences for officers.

Inspector Ang, a father of an eight-year-old boy and a six-year-old girl, said: “The acts we see being done to children are abnormal.

“You can hear them crying and screaming for help. When I come home and see my children crying or screaming, the images start to merge.

He added that there were times when he came home and was hesitant to approach his children. “Somehow the images in my head follow me home and it affects the way I interact with my own children. »