SINGAPORE — For more than an hour, a GrabCar driver took advantage of his drunk female passenger by molesting her while they were in a car parked outside her home.
On Friday (Nov 24), Ng Seng Chye, 64, was sentenced to 16 months’ jail after he admitted to one count of outraging the modesty of the 21-year-old female passenger. She cannot be named due to a gag order issued by the court.
Ng, who is no longer with the ride-hailing company, had initially claimed trial to the charge. But he changed tack and pleaded guilty after the woman testified in court.
The incident took place around 4.30am on Sept 23 last year. The court heard that the victim, a university student, was returning home from a friend’s house after a night out.
She fell asleep soon after boarding Ng’s vehicle, said Deputy Public Prosecutor Sruthi Boppana.
When she awoke about 90 minutes later — her usual journey home took just 20 minutes — she found Ng next to her in the back passenger seat. He was leaning on her, and caressing the right side of her body as well as stroking her right upper thigh region.
Terrified, the woman ran out of the car, which had parked outside her home, leaving behind some of belongings like her handphone and shoe bag.
She told her mother about the incident and they made a police report later that afternoon.
Ng was arrested hours later, after he went to a police station to return the items the woman had left in his car.
Further investigations showed that Ng had tried to wake his passenger up when his car arrived at her house, but she was not responsive.
He then leaned forward to kiss her on her mouth and molested her. Ng also made her touch his private parts while she was asleep.
Urging the court to impose a jail sentence of at least 16 months, the prosecution said that Ng had “abused his position” as a GrabCar driver in committing the offence.
“(Ng) profoundly abused his position of trust and had no qualms in taking full advantage of the unresponsive state the victim was in,” said DPP Sruthi.
Ng, who did not have a lawyer, said he was sorry for his mistake.
Pleading for a lenient sentence so that he could “spend (his) silver years with his family”, Ng told the court that he was “sick all over”, and suffered from arthritis and tuberculosis.
District Judge Luke Tan told Ng: “You have physical pains, but you have caused great emotional pain to the victim.”
Ng’s sentence will be backdated to Oct 10, when he was first put behind bars. He could have been jailed up to two years, and/or fined or caned.
http://www.todayonline.com/singapore/grabcar-driver-jailed-16-months-molesting-female-passenger
On Friday (Nov 24), Ng Seng Chye, 64, was sentenced to 16 months’ jail after he admitted to one count of outraging the modesty of the 21-year-old female passenger. She cannot be named due to a gag order issued by the court.
Ng, who is no longer with the ride-hailing company, had initially claimed trial to the charge. But he changed tack and pleaded guilty after the woman testified in court.
The incident took place around 4.30am on Sept 23 last year. The court heard that the victim, a university student, was returning home from a friend’s house after a night out.
She fell asleep soon after boarding Ng’s vehicle, said Deputy Public Prosecutor Sruthi Boppana.
When she awoke about 90 minutes later — her usual journey home took just 20 minutes — she found Ng next to her in the back passenger seat. He was leaning on her, and caressing the right side of her body as well as stroking her right upper thigh region.
Terrified, the woman ran out of the car, which had parked outside her home, leaving behind some of belongings like her handphone and shoe bag.
She told her mother about the incident and they made a police report later that afternoon.
Ng was arrested hours later, after he went to a police station to return the items the woman had left in his car.
Further investigations showed that Ng had tried to wake his passenger up when his car arrived at her house, but she was not responsive.
He then leaned forward to kiss her on her mouth and molested her. Ng also made her touch his private parts while she was asleep.
Urging the court to impose a jail sentence of at least 16 months, the prosecution said that Ng had “abused his position” as a GrabCar driver in committing the offence.
“(Ng) profoundly abused his position of trust and had no qualms in taking full advantage of the unresponsive state the victim was in,” said DPP Sruthi.
Ng, who did not have a lawyer, said he was sorry for his mistake.
Pleading for a lenient sentence so that he could “spend (his) silver years with his family”, Ng told the court that he was “sick all over”, and suffered from arthritis and tuberculosis.
District Judge Luke Tan told Ng: “You have physical pains, but you have caused great emotional pain to the victim.”
Ng’s sentence will be backdated to Oct 10, when he was first put behind bars. He could have been jailed up to two years, and/or fined or caned.
http://www.todayonline.com/singapore/grabcar-driver-jailed-16-months-molesting-female-passenger
