{
  "id": 1716881,
  "title": "Zaqy Mohamad ‘deeply disturbed’ by sexual assault case involving young children at mosque",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/18/zaqy-mohamad-deeply-disturbed-by-sexual-assault-case-involving-young",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-08-18T13:23:19.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Channel News Asia",
    "slug": "channel-news-asia",
    "url": "https://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/zaqy-mohamad-muis-deeply-disturbed-sexual-offences-committed-children-6325961"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": null,
  "summary": "Acting Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs Zaqy Mohamad expressed deep distress over a sexual assault case involving young children at a mosque in Singapore. The 37-year-old Singaporean man, who took in two young boys from a broken family while conducting religious lessons, was sentenced to 27 years and 10 months in jail and 24 strokes of the cane for raping the younger boy and molesting the older victim. Zaqy emphasized the importance of strengthening safeguards and security measures, particularly around informal activities and gatherings involving children and youths, and requested the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (MUIS) to conduct a thorough review. MUIS has already announced plans to enhance security, including patrols and CCTV monitoring, and MUIS spokespersons have reiterated that the offender was neither a mosque staff member nor an accredited religious teacher.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "CNA - Singapore",
        "title": "Zaqy Mohamad ‘deeply disturbed’ by sexual assault case involving young children at mosque",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/18/zaqy-mohamad-deeply-disturbed-by-sexual-assault-case-involving-young-1719968",
        "published": "2026-08-18T13:23:19.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}