Under The Angsana Tree

Molestation and scam incidents on the rise

Volunteers from Citizens On Patrol community programme distributing pamphlets on crime prevention at Queenstown MRT station last week. Molestation reports went up by 21.5%. Police said such incidents at public entertainment nightspots & on public transport are of particular concern. ST FOTO: ARIFFIN JAMAR

More people in Singapore have fallen prey to molesters, especially on public transport and at public entertainment nightspots, as well as scammers in the first half of this year, fuelling a spike in overall crime.

Increasingly popular tricks include: fake loan schemes, fraudulent e-commerce sales, & the "Chinese official" ruse, where scammers claim to be officials from China to demand money from victims.

Overall, a total of 16,460 crimes were reported between January and June this year, up from 15,949 cases in the same period last year, according to mid-year crime statistics released by the police yesterday.

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20% spike in reported molest cases this year

As of last month, there were 1,168 such reported cases this year - a 20% spike compared with the same period last year.

In particular, cases reported on public transport went up by 49%. Those reported at public entertainment outlets rose by 24.6%.

These figures do not merely reflect an increase in the crime alone, said Ms Jolene Tan, the head of advocacy and research at the Association of Women for Action and Research. For a "vastly under-reported" offence like sexual assault, the uptick may also indicate that more victims feel more confident to report their experiences, she told The New Paper.

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More molestation victims speaking up

A 38-yr-old schoolteacher whose modesty was outraged on the MRT during rush hour two years ago still feels the shame of it, and guilt that she said nothing.

But it happened so fast and the crowd was so thick on the platform at Jurong East MRT station that Ms Julia (not her real name) barely even had time to react.

She told The Sunday Times she felt a hand brush her inner thigh at first, then push up against her groin, as commuters surged forward to get on the train.

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12 men to be charged for separate cases of outrage of modesty

12 men, aged between 22 to 59, will be charged in court on Aug 24 and Aug 27 for 12 separate cases of outrage of modesty reported between Jan 2017 to July 2018.

In the period between Jan 2018 to June 2018, there were 832 reported cases of outrage of modesty. This is an increase of 147 cases compared to the same period in 2017.

Out of the 832, 105 cases were reported to have occurred on public transport while 63 were in public entertainment outlets. In both instances, there was an increase of 32 and 17 cases respectively compared to the same period in 2017.

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8 men charged with molestation in separate cases

(Clockwise from top left) Tham Kin Leong, Tan Boon Hwee, Subjebto Pono, Jee Chai Chai, Yujiro Tomita and Tiu Hong Hwee were among the eight men charged with outrage of modesty on Feb 27, 2018, in separate court cases. ST FOTOS: WONG KWAI CHOW

8 men were charged with outrage of modesty on Tuesday (Feb 27) in separate court cases.

The 5 Singaporeans and 3 foreigners, aged from 23 to 67, face between one and 3 charges each.

The offences were committed between November 2016 and last December.

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8 men aged between 23 & 67 arrested for separate molestation cases

8 men aged between 23 & 67 have been arrested for separate cases of outrage of modesty where they allegedly molested women between the ages of 15 and 55 in places like a hotel, a restaurant and in the street.

Seven of the eight cases occurred last year, while the last case occurred in November 2016, the police said in a statement on Monday (Feb 26).

Here is a list of all 8 cases.

15-YEAR-OLD GIRL MOLESTED ON TRAIN
19-YEAR-OLD WOMAN MOLESTED AT SINGAPORE BOTANIC GARDENS
32-YEAR-OLD WOMAN MOLESTED IN RESTAURANT
39-YEAR-OLD WOMAN MOLESTED AT ORCHARD ROAD HOTEL
TWO WOMEN AGED 55 AND 46 MOLESTED BY CYCLIST IN TOA PAYOH
33-YEAR-OLD WOMAN MOLESTED AT PUBLIC ENTERTAINMENT OUTLET IN EMERALD HILL
23-YEAR-OLD WOMAN MOLESTED WHILE EXITING LIFT
19-YEAR-OLD WOMAN MOLESTED IN PRIVATE-HIRE VEHICLE AT HOTEL CARPARK

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8 Men To Be Charged For Separate Cases Of Outrage Of Modesty And Other Offences

8 men, aged between 23 and 67, will be charged in Court on 27 February 2018 for eight separate cases of Outrage of Modesty, committed between November 2016 and December 2017.

Brief details of the cases are as follows:

On 11 March 2017, the Police received a report that a 19-year-old woman was molested at the Singapore Botanic Gardens. A 29-year-old male suspect was arrested on the same day. He will also be facing an additional charge of Using Criminal Force against the woman for pulling her hair to stop her from leaving.
On 17 August 2017, the Police received a report that a 32-year-old woman was molested in a restaurant along Unity Street. A 42-year-old male suspect was arrested on the same day. He will also be facing additional charges of using criminal force, voluntarily causing hurt and using abusive words against a public servant.
On 24 September 2017, the Police received a report that a 39-year-old woman was molested in a hotel along Orchard Road. A 67-year-old male suspect was subsequently arrested. He is also facing an additional charge of Outrage of Modesty involving a 41-year-old woman for a separate incident reported on 2 October 2017.
On 8 and 11 November 2017, the Police received reports that a 55-year-old woman and a 46-year-old woman were molested by a cyclist along Toa Payoh Lorong 1 and Toa Payoh Lorong 8 respectively. On 15 November 2017, a 23-year-old male suspect involved in both incidents was arrested.
On 27 November 2017, the Police received a report that a 33-year-old woman was molested at a public entertainment outlet along Emerald Hill. The 33- year-old male suspect was arrested on the same day.
On 1 December 2017, the Police received a report that a 23-year-old woman was molested while exiting the lift at a HDB block along Sin Ming Avenue. The identity of the 28-year-old male suspect was established and he was subsequently arrested.
On 10 December 2017, the Police received a report that a 19-year-old woman was molested in a Private-Hire Vehicle at the basement carpark of a hotel located in Orchard Road. The identity of the 36-year-old male suspect was established and he was swiftly arrested on the same day. He is facing a total of three counts of Outrage of Modesty.
On 14 November 2016, the Police received a report that a 15-year-old girl was molested on a train heading from Bishan MRT Station towards Marymount MRT Station. The victim recounted two incidents on 8 and 9 November 2016 where she was molested by the same suspect. The identity of the 34-year old male suspect was subsequently established and he was arrested on 18 November 2016.

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5 To Be Charged For Outrage Of Modesty

5 men, aged between 20 and 45, will be charged in court on 18 October 2018 for five separate cases of outrage of modesty, reported between August 2017 and April 2018.

The brief details of the five cases are as follows:

On 27 August 2017, a 28-year-old woman reported that she was molested by a 33-year-old man when they were inside the lift of a HDB block at Tah Ching Road. The man had also allegedly blocked the victim’s exit from the lift.
On 21 February 2018, a 18-year-old woman reported that she was molested by a 26-year-old man when they were on the escalator of Jurong East MRT station.
On 4 March 2018, a 21-year-old woman reported that she was molested by a 35-year-old man when they were walking to his car parked along Raffles Boulevard, and inside his car.
On 30 March 2018, a 28-year-old woman reported that she was molested by a then 44-year-old man at a HDB block along Jalan Bukit Merah.
On 4 April 2018, a 33-year-old woman reported that she was molested by a 20-year-old man at the void deck of a HDB block along Boon Lay Drive.

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4 Men To Be Charged For Outrage Of Modesty And Other Offences

4 men, aged between 26 and 49, will be charged in Court on 1 December 2017 for four separate cases of Outrage of Modesty, committed between September 2016 and June 2017.

Brief details of the cases are as follows:

On 8 September 2016, the Police received a report that a 22-year-old woman was molested at a public entertainment outlet along Orchard Road. The 33-year-old male suspect was arrested on the same day. He will also be facing an additional charge of using abusive language against a public servant under Section 6(1)(a) punishable under Section 6(3) of the Protection from Harassment Act.
On 10 December 2016, the Police received a report that a 34-year-old woman was molested at a shopping centre along Orchard Road. The 49-year-old male suspect was arrested on the same day. He will also be facing an additional charge of Mischief for his involvement in another case.
On 5 May 2017, the Police received a report that a 21-year-old woman was molested at a public entertainment outlet along River Valley Road. The 26-year-old male suspect was arrested on the same day. He will also be facing an additional charge of Using Criminal Force.
On 30 June 2017, the Police received a report that a 14-year-old girl was molested on board a train heading from Serangoon towards Marymount Station on 29 June 2017. The 35-year-old male suspect was subsequently arrested on 19 July 2017.

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2 Men Arrested for Outrage of Modesty

The Police have arrested two men, aged 22 and 29, for their suspected involvement in two separate cases of outrage of modest:

In the first case, on 7 October 2017 at about 2am, a 15-year-old female victim reported to the Police that she was molested by a man along Flower Road. The 22-year-old suspect was subsequently arrested on 10 October 2017.
In the second case, on 11 October 2017 at about 11am, a 30-year-old female victim reported that an unknown man had molested her inside the lift of a residence along Yio Chu Kang Road. The 29-year-old suspect was subsequently arrested on 12 October 2017.

Both suspects will be charged in Courts on 13 October 2017. The 22-year-old man will be charged with an offence of Aggravated Outrage of Modesty under Section 354A(1) of the Penal Code Chapter 224 while the 29-year-old man will be charged with an offence of Outrage of Modesty under Section 354(1) of the Penal Code, Chapter 224. If convicted, they are liable to be punished with an imprisonment term of up to 10 years and with caning.

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Man sentenced to seven weeks of jail time for groping a woman’s buttocks

Disturbingly, more and more cases of molestation have been recently reported in Singapore. Adding to the list is the latest case of a 22-year-old woman who was molested at Woodlands Temporary Bus Interchange by a 28-year-old construction worker who touched and “tickled” her buttocks. The construction worker pleaded guilty to one count of molestation and was jailed for seven weeks on Tuesday, November 13.

It happened on September 24 of this year. The victim and her 23-year old boyfriend were sitting on a bench at Woodlands Temporary Bus Interchange, waiting for a bus at around midnight.

The victim was sitting on the bench with her boyfriend on her left. A man, identified as Indian national Kaliyaperumal Rajkumar, arrived and took a seat next to her on her right.

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Man Arrested For Aggravated Outrage Of Modesty

The Police have arrested a 32-year-old man for his suspected involvement in a case of aggravated outrage of modesty.

On 4 November 2018 at about 5.40am, the Police were alerted to a case of a woman who was molested in a residential unit located along Choa Chu Kang Avenue 3. Officers from the Jurong Police Division and Special Operations Command conducted a search and subsequently arrested him at the carpark of the residential unit at about 11.40am.

The man will be charged in court on 5 November 2018 with the offence of aggravated outrage of modesty. Anyone convicted for the offence of aggravated outrage of modesty under Section 354A(1) of the Penal Code, Chapter 224 is liable for a jail term not less than 2 years and not more than 10 years and with canning.

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Man who offered Uber driver durian before molesting her gets jail, caning

An unemployed man who tried to offer an Uber driver durian before molesting her was sentenced to jail and caning on Monday (Nov 5) for various offences.

Png Kok Tai, 49, was sentenced to jail for 5 years, 10 months and 3 weeks, and was also given four strokes of the cane.

He pleaded guilty to various charges including drug use, theft and disorderly behaviour.

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Jail, cane for amputee who molested Uber driver while she was at the wheel

An amputee who boarded a female Uber driver's car repeatedly molested her while she drove.

The 41-yr-old woman, who had refused to go to a hotel with Png Kok Tai, struggled to defend herself but continued driving.

Png, 49, who has a prosthetic leg, was sentenced to 5 years, 10 months and three weeks' jail with 4 strokes of the cane on Monday (Nov 5) in what is believed to be the first case where a passenger outraged the modesty of a private hire car driver.

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Japanese warehouse manager admits to molesting woman in female toilet

Warehouse manager Wataru Murase pleaded guilty in court to two counts of criminal trespass and one count of molestation. ST FOTO: WONG KWAI CHOW

A Japanese expat trespassed into a female toilet at Far East Square & molested a woman as she was washing her hands.

Warehouse manager Wataru Murase, 29, did not run away when his terrified 21-yr-old victim screamed.

When she moved into a squatting position to protect herself, he did the same and tried to touch her again before fleeing the scene.

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Japanese national admits to molesting woman in Far East Square toilet

Murase Wataru pleaded guilty to one count of molestation and two counts of criminal trespass. (PHOTO: Getty Images)

In October last year, a 29-year-old warehouse manager entered a female toilet at Far East Square six times within half an hour, a district court heard on Thursday (1 November).

On his final visit, Murase Wataru found a 20-year-old woman inside washing her hands at a sink. He then stepped behind her and slipped his hands down her top to grope her breasts. Even when the victim squatted and screamed, Wataru persisted in molesting her. He then ran out of the toilet.

At the State Courts on Thursday (1 November), the Japanese national pleaded guilty to one count of molestation and two counts of criminal trespass. Another two charges of criminal trespass will be considered when he is sentenced at a later date.

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Doctor suspects error in rape accused's erectile dysfunction test

An ultrasound test for erectile dysfunction carried out on a general practitioner 2 weeks after a patient accused him of rape showed that he was normal.

However, Dr Peter Lim, the urologist who ordered the test in January 2016, told the High Court yesterday that he "strongly suspects" the result was in error, pointing to discrepancies with later tests.

Dr Lim was taking the stand in the continuing trial of Wee Teong Boo, 67, who is charged with molesting and raping a 23-yr-old patient at his Bedok practice, Wee's Clinic and Surgery, in 2015.

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Man jumps into Rochor Canal after allegedly molesting woman in church, cop nabs him in water

A 26-yr-old man was arrested after fleeing a church, where he had allegedly molested a woman, and jumping into the Rochor Canal on Saturday afternoon (Sep 29).

Stomp understands that the man had allegedly molested a female worshipper in Our Lady of Lourdes Church and fled.

He jumped into the canal & swam under a tunnel before a police officer jumped in and apprehended him in the water.

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Nurse molested 6 girls in 2 weeks; he stuck masking tape on fingers to avoid detection

After sticking strips of masking tape onto his fingers to avoid detection, a hospital nurse ambushed 6 girls on overhead bridges and molested them, striking 3 times in about an hour on one occasion.

On some occasions, 39-yr-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.

For his offences, Aldrin was sentenced to 3 years' jail and 10 strokes of the cane on Friday (April 6).

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Masseur jailed, caned for molesting customer

Under the guise of giving her a massage, a 35-yr-old masseur molested a woman repeatedly, rubbing her breasts more than 10 times over the span of a minute.

Hu Xidong, a masseur at Zufu Foot Reflexology, was yesterday given 9 months' jail and 3 strokes of the cane for outraging the modesty of a woman. Two other charges for outrage of modesty were taken into consideration.

The woman, a Japanese national, had visited the outlet in Beach Road and requested a foot and upper back massage on July 19, 2016

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Man sentenced to jail for molesting his daughter while she slept

A 54-yr-old man who molested his daughter while she was sleeping was sentenced to 15 months' jail on Thu (Aug 2).

The man, who cannot be named to protect the identity of his daughter, was also given an additional six weeks' jail in lieu of caning. He cannot be caned as he is more than 50 yrs old.

The court heard that the man's daughter, 22, had gone to her room to sleep on Oct 4 last year. She was woken up at about 4am by someone touching her, and felt a hand molesting her under her underwear,

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Retired man jailed for molesting landlady's 8-yr-old granddaughter

A retired man who accepted a friend's offer to rent a room in her Hougang flat ended up molesting the woman's 8-year-old granddaughter.

The 68-year-old man was jailed for a year and eight months on Thursday (Aug 2) after pleading guilty to one count of outraging the child's modesty.

A second molestation charge involving the same girl was considered during sentencing.

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SAF regular who molested woman gets 1 year's jail, 3 strokes

He followed the woman until they reached a dark spot in Bukit Batok – then sped up and molested her.

Jeffrey Toh, a 29-year-old Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) regular, was jailed one year and given three strokes of the cane on Tuesday (16 October) after he pleaded guilty to one count of molesting a 22-year-old woman.

Another count of causing distress to another 24-year-old woman, by sticking his mobile phone into her flat’s window and taking photos as well as videos of her was taken into consideration for his sentencing.

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Repeat offender who molested 12-yr-old girl at bus interchange jailed

A 25-yr-old man who molested a 12-yr-old girl at a bus interchange in April this year was sentenced to jail for 13 months on Thursday (Jul 26).

Teo Yan Kang, a Singapore permanent resident from Malaysia, also tried to molest two other women aged 30 and 23 in April and May.

Teo, who was working as a McDonald's crew member at the time, molested the 12-yr-old secondary school student at Jurong East Temporary Bus Interchange at around 3pm on Apr 16.

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23-yr-old man arrested for allegedly molesting woman at Serangoon MRT station

A 23-yr-old man has been arrested for allegedly molesting a woman at Serangoon MRT station.

In a news release on Mon (Sep 17), the police said they received a report last Wednesday that a 28-year-old woman had been molested twice - once while on the train and the other after she had alighted at Serangoon station.

The man was identified after follow-up investigations by officers from Ang Mo Kio Police Division and the Public Transport Security Command. He was arrested along Hougang Avenue 5 on Sunday.

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Man who molested girl he met at Jurong playground jailed, caned

He approached the seven-year-old girl at a playground in Jurong and offered to take her to another playground at a mall.

Instead of doing so, however, Paramasivam Maniam brought the girl and her friend to a park where he sexually abused her. The 33-year-old Singaporean was sentenced to two years, eight months and two weeks’ jail on Monday (8 October). He was also handed three strokes of the cane and disqualified from driving for two years.

Paramasivam, who has been diagnosed with mild mental retardation, had pleaded guilty to one count of molest for abusing he girl. He also admitted to one count of forgery – related to a job he was fired from in four days – and one count of stealing a motorcycle.

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Indian national jailed for molesting sleeping woman on Singapore Airlines flight

While asleep on a window seat on board a Singapore Airlines flight, a woman awoke to a sensation of someone pressing her breast. She saw the hand of the man beside her on her breast.

The man, 23-year-old Ravichandran Vignesh, admitted he pressed on the woman’s breast while she was sleeping as he was “drunk and high and tempted” to do so, court documents showed.

At the State Courts on Thursday (18 October), the Indian national, who pleaded guilty to one count of molest, was sentenced to jail for six months.

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Molester sentenced to 3 years’ jail for tailing and hurting woman he found ‘attractive’

He tailed a 21-yr-old woman he found “attractive” for a good 13 minutes while she was making her way home from Beauty World MRT Station.

At a poorly lit area on Hindhede Walk off Upper Bukit Timah Road, Tang Yong Hao ran up and grabbed the woman from behind.

The 28-year-old covered her mouth to stifle her screams and wrapped another hand around her abdomen. He then pulled her to the ground, forced her into a sitting position and molested her multiple times before fleeing.

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Molester gets longer jail term, caning after appeal

Rakesh Kumar Prasad, 26, molested a female student at a yoga studio in Tampines in 2015. ST FOTO: GAVIN FOO

A yoga instructor who repeatedly molested his student had his jail sentence increased from 9 months to a year and was also given 3 strokes of the cane yesterday after the High Court allowed an appeal by the prosecution.

Indian national Rakesh Kumar Prasad, 26, had also appealed against his conviction but his arguments were rejected by the court.

Justice See Kee Oon said Rakesh had blatantly abused his position of trust. "His sheer audacity in carrying out repeated intrusions with increasing brazenness while disparaging, belittling and threatening the victim must point strongly towards the need for caning," said the judge.

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Man molested 3 girls, including his niece

The court heard that on one occasion, the man did it while his 7-yr-old son was in the same room.

Yesterday, Deputy Public Prosecutor Nicholas Lai urged District Judge Ng Cheng Thiam to sentence the father of two boys to eight years' jail with 24 strokes of the cane. The 45-year-old man, a former Nanyang Technological University research associate, is a paedophile with a high risk of reoffending, the DPP added.

The accused, now jobless, cannot be named to protect his victims' identities. He pleaded guilty on Monday to six counts of molestation.

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Man who molested sister's friend at own birthday party in Downtown East gets jail, caning

It was meant to be a joyous occasion, but it took a turn when the birthday boy molested one of the partygoers - who was his own sister's best friend.

The accused, who cannot be named to protect the identity of the victim, was at his 25th birthday party at D'Resort in Downtown East on Jul 30, 2016.

The victim, then 23, was one of the guests at the surprise birthday party organised by the family of the accused.

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Man molested own niece, 2 other young girls and filmed acts on video

A man molested three young girls, including his own niece, and recorded some of the acts on video.

The court heard that on one occasion, the man committed the offence while his 7-yr-old son was in the same room.

On Thursday (Oct 18), Deputy Public Prosecutor Nicholas Lai urged District Judge Ng Cheng Thiam to sentence the father of two boys to eight years' jail with 24 strokes of the cane.

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Man who molested 13-year-old niece sentenced to jail, caning

An account manager who molested his 13-yr-old niece who was living with him was on Tuesday (Aug 7) sentenced to two years and 10 months' jail, as well as five strokes of the cane.

The 43-yr-old man, who cannot be named to protect the identity of the girl, committed the offences between August and October 2012.

He confessed to the police in 2016, when he was filing a report against his now ex-wife for harassment.

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Man who molested employee on her first day of work gets 8 months' jail

A Singapore permanent resident who employed a 28-yr-old woman, the daughter of someone he knew, and molested her on her first day at work was sentenced on Monday (Jun 18) to eight months in jail.

Md Gias Uddin Sarker was convicted on five counts of outrage of modesty at the end of a seven-day trial.

The court heard the victim took up the job at Gias’ company, which deals with the import & export of medical devices as well as construction, despite reservations about him.

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Man arrested for allegedly molesting woman while sitting beside her on bus

A 46-yr-old man was arrested on Oct 9 for allegedly molesting a woman on a public bus. The victim, a 38-yr-old woman, made a police report on Oct 5 about the incident.

Officers from Jurong Police Division established the identity of the suspect through ground enquiries and arrested him.

Preliminary investigations revealed that the man had molested the victim while he was seated beside her.

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Man arrested for allegedly molesting 6 girls aged 9 to 13 at Hougang Swimming Complex

A 36-yr-old man was arrested on Monday (Sep 24) for allegedly molesting six female victims, aged between 9 & 13.

At 3.51pm on Sep 13, the police were alerted to a case of outrage of modesty at Hougang Swimming Complex. Through follow-up investigation by officers from Ang Mo Kio Police Division, the man was subsequently identified and arrested along Hougang Avenue 2.

The man will be charged in court on Wednesday (Sep 26) with outrage of modesty.

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18-yr-old guy touched sleeping woman's private parts through open window of Woodlands flat

Under The Angsana Tree

Friday, 16 November 2018

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Thursday, 15 November 2018

Spate of molestation and outrage of modesty