In a news article published by The Straits Times on 10th June 2016, a 37-year old Singaporean PR pleaded guilty to standing behind and rubbing himself repeatedly against a 21-year old woman on the MRT on the 4th of May 2015.
The Incident
The woman boarded the train at City Hall station, towards the direction of Pasir Ris at about 6pm that day on her way to meet her boyfriend at Bugis. As the train was crowded, she stood close to the middle of the cabin. This is when the man positioned himself behind her.
At the first contact, she wasn’t too sure if it was deliberate. Therefore, she decided to move towards the train doors to distance herself but the man then followed her and kept rubbing himself against her buttocks.
She could tell it was the same man by looking through the reflection in the glass panels of the train doors.
When she reached Bugis station, she alighted, followed by the man. She then told her boyfriend about the incident and they reported it to the SMRT staff on duty.
The Defence
In Court, the man was represented by Amarjit Singh Sidhu who said in mitigation that his client’s wife and his young daughter have been receiving financial help from the Ministry of Social and Family Development the past month due to his unemployment.
He also added that the man is deeply remorseful and felt that he has let his family, friends and most importantly, himself down.
The Verdict
- —(1) Whoever assaults or uses criminal force to any person, intending to outrage or knowing it to be likely that he will thereby outrage the modesty of that person, shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to 2 years, or with fine, or with caning, or with any combination of such punishments.
Under Section 354, for outrage of modesty, the man could have been jailed up to 2 years; fined; caned or receive any combination of these punishments.
However, after a second similar charge was taken into consideration in sentencing, the man was sentenced to 9 weeks in prison.
Our Criminal Lawyer, Mr Amarjit Singh Sidhu, has defended numerous clients who found themselves in situations ranging from molest cases to expatriate crimes. With vast experience in Singapore’s laws, as well as taking on highly-publicised cases as a criminal lawyer, Mr Amarjit Singh Sidhu will be able to provide valuable and timely advice for your situation. For more information, or if you have been caught in a situation, feel free to contact us for a consultation.
