SINGAPORE: A 73-year-old man went on trial on Wednesday (Feb 10) for molesting a 25-year-old woman, who is autistic, visually handicapped and has borderline intelligence.
The man cannot be named due to gag orders protecting the identity of the victim, who is now 28.
AdvertisementAdvertisementThe accused is contesting three charges of using criminal force to outrage the victim's modesty in his flat on Jan 24, 2018. He allegedly rubbed her thigh and arm and squeezed her before pulling her hand to rub his private parts.
The victim testified in court with a support officer by her side and a screen blocking her view of the accused. She said she met the accused's wife sometime in 2016, as the latter sold jewellery at a shop in a shopping mall.
The victim, who last worked in 2013 and is now married, went to the shop once a week to buy jewellery from the older woman.
About a week after meeting the accused's wife, the victim began thinking of her as her "godma", because "she was friendly to me" and "she and I had chemistry together", she said.
AdvertisementAdvertisementShe began meeting the older woman for dinner and going back to her house with her. After the shop closed down, she continued to visit the woman's home to buy bags and cosmetics from her.
She called the accused "Uncle" and "godpa" on occasion, thinking that since his wife was her godma, he would naturally be her godfather.
On Jan 24, 2018, the victim quarrelled with her mother and left her house to meet the accused's wife. They had dinner before returning to the accused's flat.
The victim asked to stay the night and went to the bedroom, where the only bed in the unit was. She sat on the bed with the accused and they began talking.
AdvertisementAccording to the prosecution, the accused rubbed the victim's thigh several times while they talked and molested her. The victim pushed away his hand each time.
The victim then lay down and pretended to sleep, but the man allegedly squeezed her body parts at least twice. The man's wife also slept on the same bed, and when she got up to head to the kitchen at night, the victim followed her.
She told her godma that the accused had touched her, and her godma purportedly said: "Never mind, it's okay one."
After this, the accused asked the victim to return to the room to sleep, but when she did so, he allegedly pulled her hand towards him to rub his private parts.
The next morning, the victim went home and told her mother what happened, and her mother reported it to the police.
The investigation officer in charge of the case took the stand and testified about the statements she took from the accused.
He purportedly said that he was at home when the victim entered the room and called him "papa", before using his phone. After chatting with her, he asked her "why she was so white" and told her she was beautiful.
The victim merely smiled and played with his phone, before saying she wanted to sleep there.
"Based on my conversation with her, she is just like a baby," said the accused in his statement. "She came to my house previously to buy things from my wife. She called my wife 'mama'. From then on, I think she's a bit of low IQ. I told my wife and she agreed."
He claimed he was woken up by a conversation between his wife and the victim, and his wife told him that the victim wanted to go home.
After telling her not to go as it was very late, he patted the victim and she fell asleep. He denied committing any of the molestation acts, but said the victim's hand might have "accidentally touched" his private parts as he held her hand and told her to sleep.
In a subsequent statement to the police, the accused said "it just happened".
"She told me she liked me. I told her I liked her. It just happened. I touched her and she touched me. It takes two hands to clap for this to happen. I am so old, please give me a chance to live my normal life. I don't have much time to live. I've never committed any offence for the past 71 years, not even littering," he had said in his police statement.
He said he had no intention to harm the victim and sincerely apologised to her, hoping that "we can settle out of court".
The trial continues. If convicted of molesting the victim, the man can be jailed for up to two years and fined per charge. He cannot be caned as he is above 50 years old.
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