Prosecutors have managed to obtain a stay of the probation sentence initially handed to Terence Siow Kai Yuan, a 23-year-old convicted molester from the National University of Singapore (NUS), pending their appeal for a stricter punishment in the High Court.

What this means is Siow's probation will be put on hold until the outcome of the appeal has been decided upon.

The application to stay his probation was granted by District Judge Jasvender Kaur on Friday (Oct. 4) at a post-sentence hearing of the case.

Siow had last week pleaded guilty to one charge of outraging the modesty of a 28-year-old woman, while two other similar charges were taken into consideration when the judge decided to sentence him to 21 months' supervised probation.

Prosecution stresses that Siow's offence is "serious"

At the hearing on Friday morning, Deputy Public Prosecutor Gail Wong reiterated that Siow's offence was serious because of the nature of the crime.

According to a CNA report, she was quoted saying, "It remains the prosecution's position that in this present case, the offence is a serious one involving sexual contact."

Wong was reportedly cut off by the judge, however, who said, "We have been through that."

Following Siow's sentencing last Wednesday, state prosecutors filed their appeal against it on Friday, according to Home Affairs and Law Minister K Shanmugam:

The date for the appeal hearing in the High Court has not yet been fixed, however.

Defence argues for probation to continue as Siow "needs help"

Meanwhile, Siow's defence lawyer Raphael Louis reportedly argued that Siow should be allowed to continue with probation as it helps him.

Louis was quoted saying:

"He's in touch with the probation officer. He needs help, he wants to change, but he cannot change by himself. His family is there, but the probation officer is there to help him."

Recap of the case

On Sep. 25, 2018, Siow molested a woman three times at Serangoon MRT station.

The prosecution had pushed for a six-week jail term but was rejected by District Judge Jasvender Kaur, who issued a probation order instead.

She reportedly justified her decision on the grounds that Siow's actions were "minor intrusions", also citing a probation report that deemed Siow suitable for probation because his academic results showed he had the “potential to excel in life”.

Siow was subsequently sentenced to 21 months' supervised probation, along with 150 hours of community service.

His parents were also bonded for S$5,000 to ensure his good behaviour.

Separately, Siow was handed a series of disciplinary sanctions by the NUS Board of Discipline last October, including a suspension from school and mandatory counselling.

For each count of outrage of modesty, Siow could have been jailed for up to two years, fined, caned or any combination of the three.

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