SINGAPORE: A man was fined S$1,500 on Wednesday (Dec 29) for hitting a woman's right buttock while drunk and trespassing into Victoria School grounds.
"I admit that I committed these offences. I did it unknowingly without realising what I was doing at that moment, but I'm not here to justify myself," said Visen Raj Govindarajoo, 24.
At about 2am on Apr 2 this year, the police received a call from the husband of the victim.
"A guy walk and hit my wife butt. The guy is in front of me. I waiting," the husband had told the police, giving their location as 170 Bencoolen Street.
When the incident occurred, the victim, her husband and their daughter were standing near a vending machine. The victim was selecting a drink from the vending machine when she felt a hand hitting her right buttock over her clothing, the court heard.
When she turned around, she saw Govindarajoo walking past her in a drunken and unsteady manner. Her husband also heard a "smacking sound" as the accused walked past.
Suspecting that he had touched her, the victim's husband confronted Govindarajoo.
Govindarajoo denied the accusation and said he could have accidentally hit the woman while walking past them.
When the police arrived, Govindarajoo was highly intoxicated and unable to answer any questions from the officers. His speech was slurred and he was incoherent, the court heard.
He was subsequently arrested and charged with being drunk in a public place causing annoyance.
Months later on Jul 3 at about 7.15am, Govindarajoo was spotted trying to make his way out of the Victoria School grounds by a security officer employed by the school.
The security officer approached him and asked him what he was doing in the school compound, and Govindarajoo said he had slept in the conference room on the first floor of the school.
Closed-circuit television footage later showed that he had climbed over the side gate to enter the school compound at about 3.20am that same day, wilfully trespassing on the school grounds which is Government property.
Another security officer with the company lodged a report with the police days later on Jul 7.
Pleading guilty to both charges, Govindarajoo said in court that he has been affected by these charges since April.
He has been "very stressed" and can only move forward after these cases have been settled, he said in his mitigation statement.
His family has been affected by the recent floods in Kuala Lumpur, and without his passport, he cannot return home to help them, he added.
Govindarajoo, who has no prior convictions, apologised for his actions and said he would ensure they did not happen again.
Delivering the sentence, District Judge Lim Wen Juin noted that this was Govindarajoo's first offence, and imposed a S$600 fine for the wilful trespassing charge, lower than the prosecution's ask of S$750.
The prosecution had asked for a fine of S$800 for the first incident, noting that the victim's modesty was outraged.
In his sentencing, Judge Lim raised the fine for the first charge to S$900, bringing the total sentence for both charges to a fine of S$1,500.
For wilfully trespassing on Government property, Govindarajoo could have been fined up to S$1,000.
For causing annoyance in public while drunk, he could have been fined up to S$1,000, jailed up to six months, or both.
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"I admit that I committed these offences. I did it unknowingly without realising what I was doing at that moment, but I'm not here to justify myself," said Visen Raj Govindarajoo, 24.
At about 2am on Apr 2 this year, the police received a call from the husband of the victim.
"A guy walk and hit my wife butt. The guy is in front of me. I waiting," the husband had told the police, giving their location as 170 Bencoolen Street.
When the incident occurred, the victim, her husband and their daughter were standing near a vending machine. The victim was selecting a drink from the vending machine when she felt a hand hitting her right buttock over her clothing, the court heard.
When she turned around, she saw Govindarajoo walking past her in a drunken and unsteady manner. Her husband also heard a "smacking sound" as the accused walked past.
Suspecting that he had touched her, the victim's husband confronted Govindarajoo.
Govindarajoo denied the accusation and said he could have accidentally hit the woman while walking past them.
When the police arrived, Govindarajoo was highly intoxicated and unable to answer any questions from the officers. His speech was slurred and he was incoherent, the court heard.
He was subsequently arrested and charged with being drunk in a public place causing annoyance.
Months later on Jul 3 at about 7.15am, Govindarajoo was spotted trying to make his way out of the Victoria School grounds by a security officer employed by the school.
The security officer approached him and asked him what he was doing in the school compound, and Govindarajoo said he had slept in the conference room on the first floor of the school.
Closed-circuit television footage later showed that he had climbed over the side gate to enter the school compound at about 3.20am that same day, wilfully trespassing on the school grounds which is Government property.
Another security officer with the company lodged a report with the police days later on Jul 7.
Pleading guilty to both charges, Govindarajoo said in court that he has been affected by these charges since April.
He has been "very stressed" and can only move forward after these cases have been settled, he said in his mitigation statement.
His family has been affected by the recent floods in Kuala Lumpur, and without his passport, he cannot return home to help them, he added.
Govindarajoo, who has no prior convictions, apologised for his actions and said he would ensure they did not happen again.
Delivering the sentence, District Judge Lim Wen Juin noted that this was Govindarajoo's first offence, and imposed a S$600 fine for the wilful trespassing charge, lower than the prosecution's ask of S$750.
The prosecution had asked for a fine of S$800 for the first incident, noting that the victim's modesty was outraged.
In his sentencing, Judge Lim raised the fine for the first charge to S$900, bringing the total sentence for both charges to a fine of S$1,500.
For wilfully trespassing on Government property, Govindarajoo could have been fined up to S$1,000.
For causing annoyance in public while drunk, he could have been fined up to S$1,000, jailed up to six months, or both.
Continue reading...