SINGAPORE: A man was given nine months' jail on Wednesday (Jan 20) for molesting a pregnant woman after following her to a lift lobby, cornering her inside the lift and repeatedly blocking her attempts to flee.
Kota Durga Prasad, a 26-year-old painter from India, had been cycling towards a block in Jurong West on the night of Sep 5 last year when he saw the victim crossing a traffic junction.
AdvertisementAdvertisementThe 28-year-old woman was visiting her husband, who was working in Singapore, and was three months' pregnant at that time.
Kota thought that the victim "looked pretty" and decided to follow her, said the prosecutor. He cycled behind her to a lift lobby of a housing block, where he approached her and asked for her phone number.
The woman declined and told Kota that she had a husband, but Kota replied that "it was okay to have friendship with her because nowadays maids from India even though they are married, they have boyfriend in Singapore".
The victim entered the lift when it arrived, and Kota followed her. When the woman tried to escape, Kota blocked her several times with his body and hands.
AdvertisementAdvertisementThe lift doors closed and the victim was trapped in the lift with Kota, who hugged her and put his face very close to her.
The victim struggled, but Kota pressed his body against her until the lift stopped at the 11th floor. The woman screamed for help, but there was no one else around, and Kota pressed the lift buttons to close the elevator.
As the lift went down, the victim told Kota that she would give him her number and asked him not to hurt her. She gave him her real number, and while Kota was taking it down, he continued to block her exit and press the lift buttons to make sure they would remain inside together.
When the victim tried to escape again after the doors opened, Kota held her back and pressed his face close to her. Thinking he was trying to kiss her, the victim pushed him away, before telling him that she was pregnant.
AdvertisementKota reached out and rubbed her stomach a few times, but eventually left the elevator, leaving the victim slumped against the lift wall in relief. Kota tried to reopen the lift doors, but failed as the lift had started its ascent.
When he got home, he sent the victim multiple messages and called her repeatedly until midnight. The victim ignored him and contacted her husband, who rushed home and called the police.
ASSAULT WAS PROLONGED AND PERSISTENT: PROSECUTOR
Deputy Public Prosecutor Chong Kee En asked for 10 months' jail and caning, saying that Kota had used "quite a degree of wrongful restraint", and followed the victim for some time.
He was undeterred when the victim told him she had a husband and declined to give him her number, said Mr Chong.
The assault was prolonged and Kota was persistent, exploiting the lift door feature by constantly pressing the buttons to prevent the victim from fleeing.
"Regardless whether they have husbands or are with child, women deserve to be safe and to feel safe," said Mr Chong. "They should not have to fear assault just by going out by their everyday lives."
He added that Kota was "clearly a person who could not take no for an answer regardless of how many times the victim tried verbally or physically".
"We urge the honourable court to send a message that this sort of misogynistic behavior will not be condoned," said the prosecutor.
For outrage of modesty, Kota could have been jailed for up to two years, fined, caned, or given any combination of these punishments.
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