Masseur who molested female customer, then acted as if nothing happened, jailed
SINGAPORE — While partially undressed, a woman undergoing an acupressure massage had to endure the sexual advances of her male masseur as she was too afraid to protest.
Emboldened by the 37-year-old victim’s silence, Loh Kok Sun went on to molest the woman under her towel.
At the State Courts on Tuesday (16 April), the 58-year-old was jailed nine months and six weeks after he admitted to one charge of molesting the woman. Loh, who was ineligible for caning due to his age, was also fined $3,000 for possessing obscene films.
One charge of possessing uncertified films was taken into consideration for his sentencing. The victim cannot be named to protect her identity.
Victim too scared to protest
On 8 January last year, the woman visited the massage salon in Woodlands for a two-hour full-body acupressure massage. She was a regular customer at the salon and had visited in monthly for about half a year.
As with her past appointments, the woman removed her clothes and bra before laying face down on the massage table in a private room. She was covered with a towel at the time.
When Loh entered the room, the woman asked for a head, shoulder and waist acupressure massage. An hour into the treatment, Loh asked the woman to turn over and she complied.
Loh then placed the towel to cover the woman’s chest and private parts, then began to massage her again. As he continued, he moved his hands up the woman’s thigh until he touched her groin.
The woman was shocked by Loh’s actions but did not know what to do.
“Emboldened, (Loh) moved to massage the woman’s stomach area over the towel that was covering her body,” said Deputy Public Prosecutor Chew Xin Ying.
When the woman did not react, Loh slipped his hands beneath the towel and pressed the area between her breasts. He then withdrew his hands but later placed them under the towel again and pressed the woman’s breasts for five minutes.
Although she was alarmed by Loh’s behaviour, the woman did not dare to open her eyes. She thought that his actions might be part of the massage and did not dare to voice her discomfort.
“She felt scared and vulnerable and used her hands to clutch the sides of the bed tightly,” said DPP Chew.
Loh then completed the massage as if nothing happened. Before the woman made payment, he asked after her wellbeing, offered her a cup of warm water and requested that she sign the salon’s register.
After the woman left she thought about the incident and discussed it with her friends. After reading a news report about a male masseur being convicted for molesting a female client, she decided to lodge a police report.
Two days after the incident, Loh’s phone was seized. When it was examined, six videos on the device were found to be obscene.
Accused ‘disguised the act’: DPP
Loh’s lawyer, Pang Khin Wee from HOH Law Corp, urged the court to jail Loh for nine months and two weeks, and fine him $3,000.
Meanwhile, DPP Chew sought a jail term of 10 months – plus six weeks in lieu of caning – along with a fine for Loh. He pointed out that Loh had “disguised the act of molest as part of the treatment, even behaving post-incident as if nothing was wrong and asking the victim if she was okay”.
“This led the victim to be initially unsure as to whether the touching was part of the massage and leading her to continue despite her discomfort,” said the DPP, adding that Loh’s actions had been persistent and deliberate.
For molest, Loh could have been jailed up to two years, and received a possible fine, caning, or both.
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