http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/jail-caning-for-nurse-who-molested-six-girls-in-two-weeks
Nurse molested 6 girls in 2 weeks; he stuck masking tape on fingers to avoid detection
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1 hour ago
Gracia Lee
SINGAPORE - After sticking strips of masking tape onto his fingers to avoid detection, a hospital nurse ambushed six girls on overhead bridges and molested them, striking three times in about an hour on one occasion.
On some occasions, 39-year-old Aldrin Illias also took along an extra set of clothes and a pair of spectacles, which he used after committing the offences to make it more difficult for his victims to recognise him.
Aldrin was sentenced to three years' jail and 10 strokes of the cane on Friday (April 6) after pleading guilty to six charges of outraging modesty and another charge of performing an obscene act in public.
Another eight charges of a similar nature were considered during sentencing.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Chew Xin Ying said that in one incident on July 5 last year, Aldrin parked his motorcycle on the pavement in Punggol Road and was smoking next to a dustbin near an overhead bridge.
Upon spotting a 12-year-old girl descending the overhead bridge, he began walking up the stairs towards her.
As he approached the victim, he told her there was something on her shirt and pointed to her chest. When she looked down, Aldrin grabbed her left breast.
Angry, the victim shouted at Aldrin, who gave her a look of surprise and ran up the stairs away from her. He returned to his motorcycle and rode off.
When she arrived home, the victim reported the incident to her mother, who took her to lodge a police report.
Aldrin preyed on five other victims, who were between 10 and 15 years old, in a similar way from July 5 to July 14 last year. Three of the victims were molested in the space of about an hour - between 6.30am and 7.40am - on a single day, July 7.
The court also heard that on March 24, 2016, Aldrin exposed his genitals to two young girls while walking past them on an overhead bridge in Sengkang East Way.
DPP Chew said on Friday that Aldrin had taken "every conceivable step possible to avoid detection".
For instance, prior to committing the offences, he would cut small strips of masking tape and stick them to his fingers so that his DNA and fingerprints would not be left on the victim's clothing.
On some occasions, Aldrin would also change into a different set of clothes and a pair of spectacles after he molested his victims to prevent them from recognising him.
Additionally, he was careful to avoid closed-circuit television and police cameras that could later be used to track him down.
Aldrin was apprehended on July 21 last year after two plainclothes police officers in an ambush operation spotted him loitering at an overhead bridge in Anchorvale Road.
While speaking with the police officers, Aldrin tried to remove the masking tape that he had stuck onto his fingers, but two strips fell onto the floor.
He initially told police officers he did not know what the strips were, but he later admitted that he had touched a few students. He was then arrested.
In her sentencing, District Judge Sandra Looi said that Aldrin's offences were meticulously planned and had "a high level of premeditation".
For each count of outraging the girls' modesty, Aldrin could have been jailed for two years, fined and caned.
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