Advertisement

Jailed: Elderly man who followed teen girl, asked her lewd questions and then molested her

Gan Hee Chit pleaded guilty to one charge of insulting the modesty of a woman and two charges of outrage of modesty. (PHOTO: Getty Images)
Gan Hee Chit pleaded guilty to one charge of insulting the modesty of a woman and two charges of outrage of modesty. (PHOTO: Getty Images)

SINGAPORE — Having met the 17-year-old girl on a public bus, he began to follow her and later asked her lewd questions about her private parts.

At one point, the 65-year-old also put the teenager’s thumb in his mouth and sucked on it.

At the State Courts on Wednesday (24 April), Gan Hee Chit was jailed seven weeks after pleading guilty to one charge of insulting the modesty of a woman and two counts of molestation. The victim cannot bed named due to a court imposed gag order.

Followed victim from bus to bus

According to court documents, the victim was taking the bus home from school on 12 April last year when Gan boarded it and sat down next to her. He began talking to her and told her that he could see ghosts.

Gan then began to read the girl’s palms. When she alighted to transfer to another bus, Gan followed her and again sat next to her.

Asked lewd questions

On the pretext of reading her palm, Gan continued to hold on to the girl’s hands. He then asked if she was willing to be his god-daughter and for her phone number.

Despite being hesitant to give Gan her number, she complied with his requests out of fear.

When the student got off the bus near her home, Gan continued to follow her. He then asked her a series of questions about her private parts.

“She felt embarrassed and uncomfortable with the questions and was unwilling to rely,” said Deputy Public Prosecutor Tan Zhi Hao.

“The accused reassured her that the questions were ‘normal’. Feeling embarrassed, she proceeded to answer the accused’s questions.”

The girl tried to shake Gan off by heading towards a random flat at a neighbouring block but was unable to do so. At a block’s void deck, Gan then exposed his nipple to her.

Molested student at coffee shop, bus stop

Fearing for her safety, the girl then complied with Gan’s invitation to visit a nearby coffeeshop. She felt that with other customers around, she would be safe there.

However, Gan held on to her right hand and stroked it repeatedly, before stroking the student’s back from her shoulder to her bra strap several times. He also stroked her ears.

Gan then placed the student’s right thumb in his mouth and sucked on it. Shocked by his actions, she did not know what to do.

Shortly after, she made an excuse to leave by claiming that she had to take a bus to run some errands. Undeterred by her excuse, Gan followed her to the bus stop.

While waiting for the bus to arrive, Gan placed his hands around the student’s shoulder before giving her a hug. The girl then boarded the first bus that arrived, which is when Gan stopped following her.

For insulting the modesty of a woman, Gan could have been jailed up to a year and fined. For molestation, he could have been jailed up to two years and received a possible fine for each charge.

More Singapore stories:

Duo who ran defunct school admit to failing to refund students more than $174,000

NSL, EWL re-signalling project complete, new train testing centre to open by 2022: Khaw

Former mosque chairman and community ‘hero’ jailed for embezzling $371,000 in donations

British man caught on video punching Roxy Square security guard charged