Man who molested woman a day after release from prison jailed
A day after he was released from prison, Eswaran Selvarajoo molested a woman near West Mall Shopping Centre.
At the State Courts on Monday (8 January), the 35-year-old was jailed 12 weeks and four days after he pleaded guilty to one charge of using criminal force to outrage a woman’s modesty and one charge of theft in dwelling.
The court heard that at about 5pm on 25 October last year, Eswaran rushed up behind the 44-year-old victim, who was walking towards West Mall Shopping Centre, and touched her right buttock. The woman cannot be named due to a gag order.
Outraged, the woman confronted Eswaran but he remained silent and continued to walk towards her.
As Eswaran approached the woman, she started backing away from him and nearly lost her balance when she tripped. She also hit Eswaran on his arms as he continued to walk towards her.
Eswaran then told her she was beautiful. Angered, she hit him again.
Noticing that he reeked of alcohol, she rushed into West Mall Shopping Centre. She lodged a police report on 4 November last year.
Eswaran committed the offence a day after he was released from jail for assaulting a public servant and threatening a public officer.
On 8 November last year, Eswaran also stole two cans of beer from an NTUC FairPrice outlet at Bukit Batok East Avenue 3.
Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Chee Ee Ling sought a total jail term of 12 weeks and four days; four weeks for molest, eight weeks for theft and four days for breaching his remission order.
DPP Chee said that by committing an offence the day after his release from jail, Eswaran had failed to show that he had rehabilitated himself.
Eswaran’s actions instilled fear in his victim, and despite being confronted by her, he continued to approach and infringe on her personal space despite her protests, said DPP Chee.
She also noted how Eswaran – whose previous convictions include possession of obscene films, carrying an offensive weapon in public and using criminal force on a public servant – had committed another offence after molesting the woman.
Eswaran, who was unrepresented, apologised in court for what he had done, saying that he was drunk when he committed the offence.
District Judge Sandra Looi backdated his sentence to 13 November 2017, which is when he was remanded.
For using criminal force to outrage a person’s modesty, he could have been jailed up to two years, fined, caned or have been given any combination of the punishments. For committing theft in dwelling, he could have been jailed up to seven years and fined.
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