A schoolboy and his girlfriend had sex earlier this year leading to the schoolgirl becoming pregnant – when both were under the age of 14, the Judiciary Police (PJ) have announced.
PJ spokesman Choi Ian Fai announced the case during a regular press conference on Friday.
According to Choi, the sexual intercourse between the teens was consensual.
According to Choi, the two schoolchildren were enrolled in the same primary school in the previous academic year. For the current academic year, she started F1 and moved to another school, while the boy repeated P6 and stayed at the same school, after which they remained in touch. In February this year, they began to date, Choi said, adding that they had their first sexual encounter in the boy’s home in Ha Van district in March – when both were 13 years old.
Ha Van is the Chinese name for the Praia do Manduco neighbourhood in the Inner Harbour area near Barra.
According to Choi, the girl’s mother suspected that her daughter was pregnant last month. When asked by her mother, the schoolgirl admitted that she had been dating and had had sex with her boyfriend.
A doctor confirmed that the girl was six weeks pregnant. The mother reported the case to the police, Choi said.
According to Choi, PJ officers contacted the boy, based on the information provided by the girl. On Thursday last week, the boy’s father took his son to the PJ headquarters for questioning when the schoolboy admitted that he had had sex with his girlfriend on several occasions between March and last month, Choi said.
Choi said that the boy, who has now turned 14, would be transferred to the Public Prosecution Office (MP) for further questioning, based on Article 166 of the Macau Penal Code – sexual abuse of children, which states that a person who has had sexual contact with a minor under the age of 14 faces a prison term of between one and eight years.
According to Article 166, the offender faces a prison term of between three and 10 years if the sex act involves sexual intercourse, anal sex or oral sex, or when the offender inserts an object, or any particular part of their body, into the minor’s vagina or anus.
However, according to Article 18 of the Penal Code, minors under the age of 16 cannot be held criminally responsible for their deeds. They can merely be ordered by the authorities to undergo non-penal correctional measures such as counselling.
PLEASE READ THE FULL ARTICLE IN OUR PRINT EDITION.
