Man, 68, molests 10-year-old neighbour in lift, gets 8 months' jail
A stock photo of a lift at a housing block in Singapore.
SINGAPORE — A 68-year-old man was sentenced to eight months’ imprisonment on Wednesday (June 19) after pleading guilty to a charge of molestation of a girl under 14 years of age.
Sim Kian Hong, a Singaporean, molested his neighbour in May last year when she was 10 years old.
The victim’s name cannot be published under a court order to protect her identity.
Court documents showed that the victim was on the way home from a nearby supermarket after buying groceries at about 4pm on May 8, 2023.
She stopped for a while along the pavement to catch her breath when Sim approached her. The girl recognised him as a neighbour who lived in the same housing block.
He offered to help carry her items back home but she declined.
Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Andrea Gan said that Sim then walked ahead of her, but his pace matched the girl's.
When they reached their housing block and entered the lift, Sim stood slightly behind the girl.
“The victim used her handphone to avoid getting into a conversation with the accused,” DPP Gan said.
Sim then put his hand near the girl's shoulder while leaning forward such that his face was close to hers.
He then reverted to standing upright before touching her chest over her clothes “for about 14 seconds”.
Feeling uncomfortable and scared, the victim got out of the lift quickly once it reached her floor.
She made a police report the next day.
DPP Gan sought an 8.5 months’ jail term, saying that Sim displayed “some degree of predatory behaviour”.
“Further, as the accused lives in the same block, and the molest took place in the lift of the victim’s own block, the victim may be forced to relive her trauma constantly,” DPP Gan added.
A molest offence carries a jail term of up to three years or a fine or caning, or a combination of any of these punishments.
For molesting a victim under the age of 14, a person can be jailed up to five years, fined or caned, or be handed a combination of any of these.
Sim cannot be caned by law since he is above the age of 50.
