Former Albirex Niigata assistant coach guilty of molesting teenage girl

Singapore’s State Courts. (PHOTO: Dhany Osman / Yahoo News Singapore)
Singapore’s State Courts. (PHOTO: Dhany Osman / Yahoo News Singapore)

A former S-League assistant coach convicted of molesting a teenage girl had his sentencing adjourned at the State Courts on Thursday (15 March).

Thirty-year-old Takafumi Mizuno, a former employee of the Albirex Niigata football club, pleaded guilty last month to one count of using criminal force to outrage modesty of a 14-year-old girl while at a shop in Jurong East.

Mizuno’s case has been adjourned to 23 March for his mitigation plea to be taken and for the prosecution to prepare its sentencing submissions. A second similar charge will be taken into consideration for sentencing.

According to court papers, Mizuno saw the victim – whom he did not know – at a shop in Jurong East on 6 July last year. He then proceeded to slide his hand past the girl’s buttock.

Twenty minutes later, he followed the victim to a nearby supermarket, where he repeated the act.

The girl elbowed Mizuno when she sensed him behind her. She then informed her mother about what happened and made a police report on the same day.

The maximum penalty for using criminal force to outrage modesty is a jail term of up to two years, along with a possible fine and caning.

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