Despite coming to Singapore as part of his pilgrimage, a Nepalese monk found himself in trouble for groping a woman's breast after he downed six beers.

Tamang Dawa, 42, was sentenced to five months jail on Sep. 24 after pleading guilty to one count of molest.

The victim, a 28-year-old woman, cannot be named in order to protect her identity.

The incident

Dawa had entered Singapore on July 6, 2019, to renew his visa ahead of a trip to Taiwan for worship purposes.

Five days later on July 11, at 11:28pm, Dawa was walking past the New Cathay Hotel along Geylang Road when a woman called out to him.

She was selling something at a makeshift table in front of the hotel.

The court heard that Dawa then approached the table and the woman proceeded to show him something that was for sale on the table.

While the woman was bending over the table and talking to him, Dawa used his left hand to grope the woman's right breast over her clothing.

His hand was immediately swiped away by the woman who shouted to an unknown male seated nearby.

Her shouts also caught the attention of a passerby.

Detained and arrested

Upon finding out what had happened, the passerby and the unknown man chased down Dawa, who had walked off.

Once caught by the two men, Dawa apologised to the victim.

He also offered compensation to the woman, which she refused.

Two policemen eventually came across the group and arrested Dawa.

The monk later claimed that he had drunk six glasses of beer in the company of a friend at a nearby coffee shop prior to the incident.

He has been in remand since his arrest that night.

"Wholly out of character"

In mitigation, Dawa's lawyers Josephus Tan and Cory Wong from Invictus Law Corporation highlighted that the monk's touch was fleeting and that his actions had been "wholly out of character":

"Dawa is a travelling monk who often comes to Singapore to read scriptures at the various Buddhist temples here. This is part of his pilgrimage. Dawa therefore sincerely regrets his actions which took place nearby to the temple that he was then residing at."

They added that since the incident, the monk had "rebuked himself for bringing disgrace to his Nepalese master monk and to all that he stands for and reads".

According to Today, District Judge Jasvender Kaur agreed with what Dawa's lawyers had put forth in asking for a five-month sentence with no caning.

Jasvender also took into consideration the “brief nature of the intrusion” and Dawa’s early plea of guilt.

A conviction of molest can carry a sentence of up to two years jail, or with a fine or caning, or all three.

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