Foreign worker gets 11 months, 3 strokes for molesting maid who rejected him
A Bangladeshi man who molested an Indonesian maid after she rejecting his advances was jailed 11 months and given three strokes of the cane on Tuesday (7 November).
Hannan, a 32-year-old marine trade worker, pleaded guilty to two counts of outrage of modesty is the State Courts.
The court heard that Hannan and the maid, a 32-year-old Indonesian, did not know each other prior to the incident, which took place on 2 September.
The maid, who cannot be named due to a gag order, was with her employer’s son and niece at a playground in Teban Gardens along with another maid from Myanmar. Hannan was also at the playground at the time.
As the two maids were leaving the playground at about 6.30pm, Hannan approached the victim and asked for her phone number. The victim ignored him and walked away, but Hannan tailed the group and about nine minutes later, he grabbed the victim’s breast from behind.
Fearing for her safety, the victim shouted at the accused, telling him not to touch her, before quickly walking. However, Hannan continued following her, asking for her number again while she waited for the lift at her HDB block.
She rejected Hannan once more and move away from him. Hannan then went over and hugged her tightly, squeezing her breast again with one hand, while the victim was holding the hands of her employer’s niece.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Gail Wong said that the squeeze was so hard that the maid felt some pain.
The maid broke free from the hug, but Hannan embraced her tightly once more, before squeezing her breast again. She then covered her chest and screamed, before squatting down to get out of Hannan’s grasp.
Hannan refused to let go until she was almost on the floor, and only backed off after the maid hit him in the chest. These actions were also captured by a CCTV camera at the lift lobby.
The victim told her employer what happened when she reached home. Her employer then accompanied the victim to go looking for Hannan, whom they found sitting on a bench.
The employer then confronted Hannan, but he denied having molested the victim and tried to leave. A male passer-by helped to detain Hannan, before the victim’s employer called for the police.
DPP Wong asked for Hannan to be given an 11-month sentence and three strokes of the cane. She said that Hannan had committed the crimes in broad daylight and had used a significant degree of force.
“Specific deterrence must apply in full force against the accused, who was undeterred by the victim’s shouts from the first incident and continued to follow and molest her,” DPP Wong said.
“While the first occasion may have been opportunistic, the second was clearly targeted and pre-meditated.”
DPP Wong also added that the acts were “perpetrated against a vulnerable victim, a fellow foreign worker”, and called Hannan’s actions “no different from a lustful animal pouncing on a hapless prey”.
For outraging the modesty of a woman, Hannan could have been jailed for up to two years, fined and caned for each charge.
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