Man, 65, admits to kissing and hugging colleague with intellectual disability
SINGAPORE — A 65-year-old man admitted on Thursday (23 July) to molesting a colleague with an intellectual disability.
The man, who cannot be named to protect the victim’s identity, also pleaded guilty in court to possessing 149 obscene films in one of his two mobile phones, which was seized by the police after his molest offence.
While the man pleaded guilty to a count of molest and of possessing obscene films each, charge sheets reveal that he had made sexual advances on the victim thrice within five minutes, forcefully hugging and kissing her each time. The woman shouted on the last occasion.
The two other charges of molest, along with another charge of possessing 122 films in his second phone, will be taken into consideration for his sentencing.
At the time, the man and the victim both worked as linen attendants in a department of a medical facility.
On 2 September 2019, at around 12.09pm, the man entered the main door of a linen room and walked behind the victim, who was sitting at her desk. The man then hugged her from behind and kissed her face, prompting the victim to shout, according to court documents.
A health attendant in the same department heard the shout and rushed into the room to see the man standing close behind the victim, with his head near hers. He asked the man to leave the room and the latter did so.
The health attendant told his supervisor, who escalated the incident to the assistant manager. After viewing CCTV footage, the manager of the department was informed and a police report lodged the same day.
The man was arrested on 3 September last year and his mobile phones seized. A total of 149 obscene films were found in his mobile phone.
At the time of the molest offence, the man was on a remission order from 3 January last year to 3 September this year for a previous conviction, which was not revealed in court documents. For offending while on remission, the man will have to serve the remaining period of remission order – equivalent to 367 days – in jail.
The man will return to court on 3 August for sentencing.
For molest, the man faces a jail term of up to two years, with fine or caning, or any combination of the punishments. For possessing an obscene film, the man may be fined at least $500 for each film - with a maximum of $20,000 accumulative - or jailed up to six months, or both.
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