Man jailed 3 months for molesting colleague while watching movie at work
Amir HussainWed, 13 January 2021, 7:49 PM SGT
The Singapore State Courts. (PHOTO: Dhany Osman / Yahoo News Singapore)
SINGAPORE — A man who molested a colleague as they watched a movie on his computer at work was on Wednesday (13 January) jailed for three months.
The 34-year-old Singaporean man pleaded guilty at the State Courts to one charge of outrage of modesty.
Another count of outrage of modesty, along with one charge of insulting a woman’s modesty was considered in sentencing as part of his plea bargain.
The culprit’s name, occupation and workplace cannot be revealed due to a gag order imposed by the court to protect the victim’s identity.
On 23 July 2016, the perpetrator and the 20-year-old victim decided to watch a movie while at work and sat beside each other facing a computer screen on a desk.
“When the movie started, the accused switched off the lights in the room, stating that in movie cinemas, there were no lights on during the movie as well,” said Deputy Public Prosecutor Emily Koh.
“While they were watching the movie, the accused held the victim’s hand and rubbed her hand with his hand,” she added.
He then let go of the victim’s hand and placed one of his hands on her stomach, over her T-shirt. She pushed his hand away but he placed his hand on her stomach again and moved his hand up and down.
When the victim pushed the culprit’s hand away once more, he stood up and locked the door of the room they were in before returning to his seat.
“The accused then sat down on the chair, put his hand underneath the victim’s T-shirt and placed it onto her stomach area. The victim tried to pull his hand out from under her T-shirt, but the accused persisted in putting his hand on her stomach area,” said DPP Koh.
The victim then pinched the molester’s lower arm and he stood up. She tried to move away from him, but he kept coming closer towards her.
When the victim’s back was turned, the culprit hugged her from behind and placed his hands on her waist. She tried to break free, to no avail.
The molester then started kissing the victim’s neck and placed his hand underneath her T-shirt, moving his hand up towards her chest.
“As a result of the accused’s actions, the victim was very scared of the accused. As she was colleagues with the accused, she feared that she would jeopardise her job if she reported the matter,” said DPP Koh.
But just two days later, the molester struck again – this time he massaged her shoulders and told her that it would be good for her to remove her braces so that she could perform oral sex, and also asked if she had done so before.
The victim told her colleague about the matter and filed a police report a few days later.
The prosecutor asked for four months’ jail while the man’s lawyer asked for three months. In sentencing, District Judge Chay Yuen Fatt noted the jail terms meted out for similar cases and that the molester had pleaded guilty to his crime, saving the victim the trauma of relieving her experience in court.
The maximum punishment for molestation is two years’ jail along with a fine and caning. Only male offenders below 50 can be caned.
Amir HussainWed, 13 January 2021, 7:49 PM SGT
The Singapore State Courts. (PHOTO: Dhany Osman / Yahoo News Singapore)
SINGAPORE — A man who molested a colleague as they watched a movie on his computer at work was on Wednesday (13 January) jailed for three months.
The 34-year-old Singaporean man pleaded guilty at the State Courts to one charge of outrage of modesty.
Another count of outrage of modesty, along with one charge of insulting a woman’s modesty was considered in sentencing as part of his plea bargain.
The culprit’s name, occupation and workplace cannot be revealed due to a gag order imposed by the court to protect the victim’s identity.
On 23 July 2016, the perpetrator and the 20-year-old victim decided to watch a movie while at work and sat beside each other facing a computer screen on a desk.
“When the movie started, the accused switched off the lights in the room, stating that in movie cinemas, there were no lights on during the movie as well,” said Deputy Public Prosecutor Emily Koh.
“While they were watching the movie, the accused held the victim’s hand and rubbed her hand with his hand,” she added.
He then let go of the victim’s hand and placed one of his hands on her stomach, over her T-shirt. She pushed his hand away but he placed his hand on her stomach again and moved his hand up and down.
When the victim pushed the culprit’s hand away once more, he stood up and locked the door of the room they were in before returning to his seat.
“The accused then sat down on the chair, put his hand underneath the victim’s T-shirt and placed it onto her stomach area. The victim tried to pull his hand out from under her T-shirt, but the accused persisted in putting his hand on her stomach area,” said DPP Koh.
The victim then pinched the molester’s lower arm and he stood up. She tried to move away from him, but he kept coming closer towards her.
When the victim’s back was turned, the culprit hugged her from behind and placed his hands on her waist. She tried to break free, to no avail.
The molester then started kissing the victim’s neck and placed his hand underneath her T-shirt, moving his hand up towards her chest.
“As a result of the accused’s actions, the victim was very scared of the accused. As she was colleagues with the accused, she feared that she would jeopardise her job if she reported the matter,” said DPP Koh.
But just two days later, the molester struck again – this time he massaged her shoulders and told her that it would be good for her to remove her braces so that she could perform oral sex, and also asked if she had done so before.
The victim told her colleague about the matter and filed a police report a few days later.
The prosecutor asked for four months’ jail while the man’s lawyer asked for three months. In sentencing, District Judge Chay Yuen Fatt noted the jail terms meted out for similar cases and that the molester had pleaded guilty to his crime, saving the victim the trauma of relieving her experience in court.
The maximum punishment for molestation is two years’ jail along with a fine and caning. Only male offenders below 50 can be caned.
