SINGAPORE: A serial flasher who has been convicted of a crime almost every year since 2007 reoffended again, this time going to bus stops near schools to expose himself.
Budiman Shah Mohd Noorel Azman, 38, flashed his private parts at an eight-year-old girl, a 16-year-old student and a 29-year-old woman.
He pleaded guilty on Wednesday (Dec 14) to two counts of sexual exposure and one count of an obscene act. A fourth charge will be considered in sentencing.
The court heard that Budiman went to a bus stop along Bukit Batok West on Jan 31 this year. He was on remission for previous offences at that time.
An eight-year-old girl was at the bus stop, heading to school. She noticed Budiman standing on the grass patch near the bus stop.
He exposed himself to the girl. She boarded the bus when it arrived and told her father about it later that day. Her father lodged a police report.
On May 30, Budiman alighted from a bus at a bus stop along Bukit Batok West Avenue 3.
He crossed the road and walked to another bus stop that was outside a school. At the bus stop, he saw a 29-year-old woman sitting alone.
He lowered his pants and exposed himself to the woman, intending her to see his private parts without her consent.
The woman saw Budiman smiling at her as he walked past. She called the police and said there was a flasher walking around where there were a lot of students around.
On Oct 11 this year, he targeted a 16-year-old student who was at a bus stop opposite a secondary school.
When Budiman flashed the girl, she saw him but chose to ignore him. Budiman held on and waited for the girl to look at him.
She later boarded the bus and told her mother about what happened before lodging a police report.
Budiman was remanded later that month.
LONG LIST OF PAST CONVICTIONS
The prosecutor asked for a report assessing Budiman's suitability for mandatory treatment.
He said Budiman was heavily traced for multiple offences, and the prosecutor read out a long list of past convictions dating from 2007.
The penalties he received for his crimes, which he committed almost every year from 2007 to 2021, include various jail terms and mandatory treatment.
Most of the offences were for insulting women's modesty. Others include committing an obscene act and outrage of modesty.
In mitigation, Budiman said: "I am eager to go for treatment."
He said he now has a counsellor to speak to and can talk to them when he is "facing stress". He said the court counsellor told him he is not alone and there are people to help him.
"I feel like there is someone who can help me, when all this while, I feel like I'm facing this sickness alone. All along I'm scared ... how to voice out my problems. I'm actually looking forward to whatever treatment will be given to me," he said.
The judge called for a mandatory suitability report and adjourned sentencing to Dec 27.
In the meantime, Budiman will be remanded for observation at the Institute of Mental Health so a psychiatrist's report can be prepared.
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/sin...outside-schools-exposed-himself-again-3143941
