Man gets 16 weeks' jail for molesting teen on MRT train, stealing wallet, Singapore News
The man had asked the 13-year-old victim for directions to the Downtown Line at Dhoby Ghaut MRT Station at around 5.30pm on May 18.
The man cannot be named due to a gag order to protect the victim's identity, according to court records.
The girl told him to take a train to Little India and transfer from there, according to the case.
When his train arrived, however, the 60-year-old suddenly grabbed the teen's hand and pulled her into the carriage, asking her to sit next to him. She was so frightened that she did not know what to do, reported Shin Min Daily News.
The man then put his left hand on her thigh and continued talking to her.
Upon arriving at Little India MRT station, the man took the girl's hand and asked her to go to a restaurant with him, but she refused. He then let go and walked out by himself, reported the Chinese evening daily.
When the teen finally made it to Sengkang MRT station, which was her intended destination, she told her sister about the incident. The latter relayed the information to their father, who called the police, according to Shin Min. Came to Singapore with intentions to steal
The man, who works as a chef in Penang, flew to Singapore from Kuala Lumpur on May 11 with plans to stay for two weeks and commit theft, according to the case.
He had been told by a friend that it was easy to steal things in Singapore, reported Shin Min.
The man reportedly stole a black Louis Vuitton wallet from a woman's bag at Lau Pa Sat on May 17 while she was not paying attention.
The wallet, valued at $1,000, contained about $1,010 worth of Hong Kong dollars, Australian dollars, Japanese yen and Singapore dollars, as well as an Australian SIM card and four credit cards.
The man was also accused of stealing another diner's bag in a restaurant the previous night. He found nothing valuable except a mobile phone, which he pocketed before discarding the bag.
The man appeared in court on Monday (July 21), facing five charges, including molestation and theft, three of which he pleaded guilty to.
The man also reportedly requested for leniency, admitting to his mistakes. He is yet to make any compensation for the stolen items.
[[nid:717062]]
bhavya.rawat@asiaone.com
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Straits Times
5 hours ago
- Straits Times
Outrage in China after reports exploitative images of Chinese women shared in Telegram groups
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox FILE PHOTO: Telegram app logo is seen in this illustration taken, August 27, 2024. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo BEIJING - Sexually exploitative images of Chinese women were shared in encrypted Telegram chat groups with hundreds of thousands of users, Chinese media reported, triggering widespread outrage online. A Chinese-language Telegram chat group named "MaskPark tree hole forum" shared images of women secretly taken or filmed in locations, including public toilets, with more than 100,000 anonymous users in China and overseas, said Chinese state-run newspaper Southern Daily, which first reported the chat groups' existence last week. Some users posted private images of their current or ex-girlfriends and female family members, the report said, and that some footage of women secretly filmed using pinhole cameras in public spaces was being sold in the chat groups. Hashtags related to the issue on Chinese microblogging platform Weibo gained more than 270 million views on Tuesday. "It's truly frightening how secret filming has infiltrated everyday life," read one comment. China has strict obscenity laws and regularly scrubs content deemed pornographic from its heavily-controlled domestic internet, so the scale of the image sharing has shocked many in China. People must use VPN software to access Telegram, which is blocked in China. Other Telegram sub-forums targeting Chinese-speaking users with pornographic content had as many as 900,000 members, the Southern Daily said. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore Terrorism threat in Singapore remains high, driven by events like Israeli-Palestinian conflict: ISD Singapore Online platforms have halved time it takes for Singaporeans to be self-radicalised: ISD Singapore 3 taken to hospital after fire breaks out in Toa Payoh flat Singapore ICA inspector obtained bribes in the form of sex acts from 6 foreign men in exchange for his help Singapore Doctor who forged certificates for aesthetic procedures gets 4 months' jail Life Alone but not lonely: Tips from seniors who live solo and like it Asia Extreme weather turns Beijing into rain trap; 30 killed, over 80,000 evacuated Singapore ST Podcasts Live: Share your ideas at The Fashion Pulpit on how to cope with rising temperatures "My ex-boyfriend secretly took photos of me during sex, posted my private photos to the group without my permission and publicised my social media accounts," a female victim who was not named told the newspaper. She was alerted to the forum in May through an anonymous tip-off, adding that many of the chat group messages self-deleted and the images could not be saved or screenshotted due to the settings in the Telegram chat. Chatroom users also sold everyday objects, such as incense holders, fitted with pinhole cameras to secretly film women, according to chat records published in the report. "This has heightened the concerns of many women, as voyeuristic incidents seem to be ubiquitous," said Huang Simin, a Chinese lawyer who specialises in sexual violence cases. "I've noticed a general sense of powerlessness (women feel with regards to legal protections), a feeling that there's no effective way to address such incidents." The main MaskPark forum has been taken down but some smaller sub-forums remain active on Telegram, the Southern Daily said. "The sharing of non-consensual pornography is explicitly forbidden by Telegram's terms of service and is removed whenever discovered," a Telegram spokesperson told Reuters. "Moderators proactively monitor public parts of the platform and accept reports in order to remove millions of pieces of harmful content each day, including non-consensual pornography." SOUTH KOREA SCANDAL Chinese social media commenters likened the incident to South Korea's "Nth room" scandal, where operators of pay-to-view Telegram chatrooms blackmailed at least 74 women, including underage girls, into sharing sexually explicit images of themselves with tens of thousands of users. The case sparked a national outcry in South Korea and the main ringleader was sentenced to 40 years in prison in 2020. "Compared to the 'Nth room' incident, the evil of MaskPark is even more normalised and diffuse. There is no single principal offender and users share images for 'pleasure' not profit," read one Weibo post with more than 14,000 likes. Chatroom users who posted images can be investigated under Chinese law for "producing, selling and disseminating obscene materials for profit" as well as "illegally using special equipment for eavesdropping and taking non-consensual photos," said Huang. But the offences of secret filming and photography carry relatively light punishments if the content is not deemed obscene, she added, with a fine of up to 500 yuan ($69.68) and 10 days' administrative detention for serious cases. It is also difficult for Chinese police to punish offenders over MaskPark because Telegram is encrypted and hosted overseas, said a Chinese legal researcher who requested anonymity for reasons of sensitivity. "Criminal cases require a high evidence threshold, so disseminating intimate images often remains difficult to prosecute due to insufficient evidence," they said. "There are no specific regulations regarding the dissemination of intimate images of adult women." Both lawyers called for stronger government regulatory oversight of gender-based abuse on online platforms. "I hope that China will develop criminal laws to regulate carrying out voyeurism and sexual violence through visual imagery in the future," said Huang. REUTERS
Independent Singapore
6 hours ago
- Independent Singapore
'He filmed me on the MRT and wouldn't stop — Am I really powerless to do anything?'
SINGAPORE: A regular day on Singapore's MRT became surprisingly rough for a rail user when a man started recording her continuously, using his mobile phone. 'I told him to stop, but he just kept filming me,' said the commuter. 'I have no idea what he wanted to do with the footage. I know it's technically legal to record someone in a public space, but it still made me really uncomfortable.' It's a situation that triggered a strong reaction online, exposing a grey area between legality and personal limits. Although filming other people in public spaces like the MRT is not against the law, the incident raises more profound questions about harassment and permission, especially when someone expresses distress and embarrassment. Reddit users weighed in with a combination of hands-on advice and some humorous responses. One of the most common recommendations is to report it to SMRT staff. 'Not much you can do, other than maybe just reporting to SMRT staff for them to have a record of the person,' one netizen wrote. Another Redditor prompted the original poster to file an unused exit claim via the public transport app if she alighted from the train precipitately to avoid the guy. 'They'll look over your journey history and will, in all likelihood, refund the difference,' the commenter advised. However, the responses weren't all about officialdom, as some netizens proposed a more forceful tactic. 'Film him back,' one Redditor commented — a suggestion backed by others, who further advised, 'Record him back to assert dominance,' and even, 'Shine your phone torch light back at him.' While these ideas may seem daring (or even a little rude), they demonstrate a fundamental desire for control in a circumstance where one feels disrespected and vulnerable. When does it cross the line? More than a few commenters highlighted the fact that while public filming isn't prohibited, to cause someone anguish through insistent filming can be viewed as harassment, and if the person filming follows you around or shifts positions just to stay near you, the situation could spiral into nuisance, stalking, and aggravation, which are serious legal offences in Singapore. One Redditor proposed a technique to document such behaviour: 'Record him at your initial position, then move to a different location. If he follows and you capture him again, now you have potential proof of stalking.' Another commenter suggested taking a photo of the man as proof, notifying him that his behaviour is upsetting, and seeking help from the station staff or even the police if the conduct continues. Navigating the legal and personal boundaries This MRT incident is a reminder that while public spaces provide inadequate privacy, that doesn't mean improper behaviour should go unchecked. Feeling discomfort when being recorded is valid, and so is speaking up. Whether it's notifying SMRT staff, making a police report, or merely stepping away and recording the episode for your defence, there are steps you can take. In an era when cameras are always on, the most significant lesson to learn is that respect for other people's ease, well-being, and consent still counts, even in public.
AsiaOne
6 hours ago
- AsiaOne
US senator wants Elon Musk to block use of Starlink by financial fraud groups in Southeast Asia, World News
WASHINGTON — A Democratic senator on Monday (July 28) urged SpaceX CEO Elon Musk to block transnational criminal groups in Southeast Asia from using Starlink satellite internet service to commit fraud against Americans. Senator Maggie Hassan cited recent reports that Starlink is being used to facilitate fraud against Americans by a broad range of transnational criminal organisations operating "scam compounds" in Southeast Asia. The US Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network said these groups defrauded Americans out of billions of dollars, she added. "Scam networks in Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, and Laos, however, have apparently continued to use Starlink despite service rules permitting SpaceX to terminate access for fraudulent activity," Hassan wrote in a letter to Musk seen by Reuters. "SpaceX has a responsibility to block criminals from using the service to target Americans." SpaceX did not immediately respond to a request for comment. For years, criminal networks have trafficked hundreds of thousands of people to scam compounds across Southeast Asia, including many along the Thai-Myanmar border, where victims are forced to work in illegal online schemes, according to the United Nations. "While most people have probably noticed the increasing number of scam texts, calls, and emails they're receiving, they may not know that transnational criminals halfway across the world may be perpetrating these scams by using Starlink internet access," Hassan wrote. Since February, Thailand has halted electricity, internet, and fuel supplies to five Myanmar border areas, including Myawaddy, in a bid to disrupt the scam centres, which have become an escalating regional security concern. International pressure to shut down the scam centres intensified following the abduction of Chinese actor Wang Xing, who was kidnapped after arriving in Thailand in January. He was later rescued by Thai police, who located him across the border in Myanmar. Criminal networks, mainly emanating from China, are known to run several of these scam centres, including those in the Myawaddy region, according to the United States Institute of Peace. [[nid:720595]]
