Man denies poking woman with his exposed crotch covered with yellow plastic bag in MRT, claims to be 'victim' of 'MeToo' - Mothership.SG
mothership.sg
Khine Zin Htet |
February 01, 2024, 11:25 PM
On her usual commute to work on a crowded Circle Line MRT train, one woman felt a bump on her back that she thought was innocuous.
After feeling several more bumps on her thigh, she looked down to see something that "disgusted" and shook her — a man's exposed genitals covered loosely by a yellow plastic bag "hovering above it".
The man was arrested shortly after but denied the allegation in a trial.
He claimed that her claim was "bullsh*t", accused her of "lying right under the very nose of the justice system and getting away with it”, and painted himself as a "victim" of the "MeToo movement".
She testified during the trial that she was wearing a long dress and carrying a sling bag over one shoulder.
Due to the morning rush hour, the train was crowded, and she stood near the doors of her carriage.
As she stood, she felt a bump on her back but was unable to identify the source of the bump after she turned around to check.
She then moved slightly away so the train doors were on her right.
Sometime after, she felt bumps on her thigh between one to five times.
She said she did not see the whole of his genitals as it was partly covered by a yellow plastic bag hovering above it.
She looked up and saw the man avoiding eye contact, looking “a little bit taken aback”.
Shocked, she exclaimed, “What the... is your thing out?”.
She tried to pull his hand that was holding the plastic bag aside but he resisted.
She then told him that she was going to report him to the police.
The man then removed his hand and said, “Nothing, what?”.
The victim informed a female staff at the station, who later contacted the station's operations command centre.
The police were called subsequently, and the man was placed under arrest.
The defence argued that the man's not running away and following the victim to the station showed he was innocent.
However, the prosecution disagreed, pointing out that it was possible that he had followed the victim because he had no other choice.
The defence also raised doubts about the victim's testimonies, saying that it was inconsistent.
However, the judge was of the view that the woman's testimony was "unusually convincing" as her account was consistent with what she had told the female staff at the station on the day of the incident, as well as messages in four different WhatsApp group chats shortly after the incident.
The messages she sent to her friends showed that her description of the molestation had always been "consistent and firm", the judge said.
Additionally, the victim had suffered psychological harm as a result of the incident.
She had disclosed in court about feeling “disgusted” and “violated”, as well as told her friends in her WhatsApp messages that she was “zoning out of everything” and “a bit shaken” and how she “can’t really focus on work”.
She also shared that she was "feeling nauseous" about what she saw and that she felt worse as the day went by.
She also "felt so gross" that she dry-vomitted after work.
Following the incident, she carried a backpack to "protect" herself and avoided using the Circle line to go to work.
The prosecutor also said the man's "manipulativeness and perverseness" in painting himself as the victim of the "MeToo" movement "gone berserk".
However, the judge did not agree with the prosecutor that the man's conduct at the trial was egregious.
The judge said that while the defence had been "conducted in a very robust and rigorous manner", he did not think it "stepped beyond what was necessary to effectively mount that defence".
Therefore, he disagreed that the man's sentence needed to be increased further. The judge also considered that the man was a first offender and the various testimonies and references submitted by the defence.
The judge ultimately sentenced the man to six months in jail.
The man has appealed against the conviction.
Top photo via Canva
mothership.sg
Khine Zin Htet |
On her usual commute to work on a crowded Circle Line MRT train, one woman felt a bump on her back that she thought was innocuous.
After feeling several more bumps on her thigh, she looked down to see something that "disgusted" and shook her — a man's exposed genitals covered loosely by a yellow plastic bag "hovering above it".
The man was arrested shortly after but denied the allegation in a trial.
He claimed that her claim was "bullsh*t", accused her of "lying right under the very nose of the justice system and getting away with it”, and painted himself as a "victim" of the "MeToo movement".
Felt bump on back and thigh
According to a judgment dated Jan. 26, 2024, on Oct. 14, 2019, the victim boarded the MRT at Serangoon station on the Circle line to go to her workplace at Paya Lebar.She testified during the trial that she was wearing a long dress and carrying a sling bag over one shoulder.
Due to the morning rush hour, the train was crowded, and she stood near the doors of her carriage.
As she stood, she felt a bump on her back but was unable to identify the source of the bump after she turned around to check.
She then moved slightly away so the train doors were on her right.
Sometime after, she felt bumps on her thigh between one to five times.
Said she saw exposed crotch when she looked down
When she looked down to check, she saw, to her shock, “the tip and a little bit more of” the man's exposed genitals.She said she did not see the whole of his genitals as it was partly covered by a yellow plastic bag hovering above it.
She looked up and saw the man avoiding eye contact, looking “a little bit taken aback”.
Shocked, she exclaimed, “What the... is your thing out?”.
She tried to pull his hand that was holding the plastic bag aside but he resisted.
She then told him that she was going to report him to the police.
The man then removed his hand and said, “Nothing, what?”.
Went to control station together
The pair alighted at Tai Seng MRT station and went to the control station.The victim informed a female staff at the station, who later contacted the station's operations command centre.
The police were called subsequently, and the man was placed under arrest.
Denied that he molested victim
The man denied the allegations during the trial.The defence argued that the man's not running away and following the victim to the station showed he was innocent.
However, the prosecution disagreed, pointing out that it was possible that he had followed the victim because he had no other choice.
The defence also raised doubts about the victim's testimonies, saying that it was inconsistent.
However, the judge was of the view that the woman's testimony was "unusually convincing" as her account was consistent with what she had told the female staff at the station on the day of the incident, as well as messages in four different WhatsApp group chats shortly after the incident.
The messages she sent to her friends showed that her description of the molestation had always been "consistent and firm", the judge said.
Victim suffered psychological harm: Judge
The judge explained that the act of committing the molestation using his exposed penis was "more egregious" than if the penis had not been exposed.Additionally, the victim had suffered psychological harm as a result of the incident.
She had disclosed in court about feeling “disgusted” and “violated”, as well as told her friends in her WhatsApp messages that she was “zoning out of everything” and “a bit shaken” and how she “can’t really focus on work”.
She also shared that she was "feeling nauseous" about what she saw and that she felt worse as the day went by.
She also "felt so gross" that she dry-vomitted after work.
Following the incident, she carried a backpack to "protect" herself and avoided using the Circle line to go to work.
Conduct at trial does not warrant increase in sentence: Judge
During the trial, the man had characterised the victim as "crazy and had dismissed her claim as "bullshit".The prosecutor also said the man's "manipulativeness and perverseness" in painting himself as the victim of the "MeToo" movement "gone berserk".
However, the judge did not agree with the prosecutor that the man's conduct at the trial was egregious.
The judge said that while the defence had been "conducted in a very robust and rigorous manner", he did not think it "stepped beyond what was necessary to effectively mount that defence".
Therefore, he disagreed that the man's sentence needed to be increased further. The judge also considered that the man was a first offender and the various testimonies and references submitted by the defence.
The judge ultimately sentenced the man to six months in jail.
The man has appealed against the conviction.
Top photo via Canva
