A 25-year-old man was sentenced to nine months' jail and 1 stroke of the cane on Jan. 21 according to CNA, for molesting his girlfriend's mother (the victim).

The man cannot be named to protect the victim's identity.

According to court documents seen by Mothership, the man has been convicted of one count of molestation - for using criminal force with intent to outrage the victim's modesty.

Accused and girlfriend had a baby

On Mar. 9, 2020, the accused visited the victim's house, and at that time, the accused, his girlfriend, the victim, and the baby were present in the unit.

At 8am, the girlfriend's mother had gone to sleep in her bedroom as she had helped to take care of the baby all night.

Shortly before 11.30am, the accused entered the mother's bedroom to retrieve a pillow.

According to the girlfriend, he then remained in the room for a while.

Victim was asleep and unaware

Entering the room, the accused noticed the victim was asleep, and that her shirt exposed her breast.

He then molested the victim's exposed breast, and squeezed the victim's right breast over her shirt a few times, while calling her "Mother". He also used his hand to touch the victim's mouth.

Accused requested for sex

The victim woke up to to find the accused squatting beside her head, with his pants down and genitalia exposed.

At this point, the accused said something to the effect of "Let's have sex", to which the victim responded that she did not want to.

She then pretended to go back to sleep, and soon after, the accused left the room.

The victim did not immediately report the matter to the police as she feared arousing the accused's suspicions.

About an hour later (around 12.35pm), she took the opportunity to report the matter while the baby was crying, subsequently leading to the accused's arrest.

The aftermath

The victim has since been regularly attending sessions at IMH, as the incident left her feeling depressed.

Although the sessions and prescribed medication have helped, she still suffers trauma whenever she recalls the incident.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Tin Shu Min made a case for the sentence eventually imposed, noting that the accused had brazenly taken advantage of a sleeping victim to intrude upon her private parts, and that harm had been caused to the victim as a result.

While the accused had pleaded guilty at an early stage, the prosecutor also noted that the accused had been sentenced to probation in 2013 for another sex-related crime, and there had been no evidence the accused had been suffering from any illness or personality problem at the time of incident.

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