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A man introduced himself to female students and took them on a "tour" around Fort Canning Park.

He claimed to have "the Buddha" inside of him, using this pretext to inappropriately touch their chests to sense the "unhappiness" inside them.

Tan Soh Kwan, a 59-year-old odd job labourer, was sentenced to a year's jail on Thursday, Dec. 8, CNA reported.

He pleaded guilty to two counts of molestation, with another three charges taken into consideration.

What happened

First victim

According to court documents seen by Mothership, a 20-year-old French national who was a student in Singapore, visited Fort Canning Park on Sep. 12, 2021.

She met Tan who introduced himself to her, and they engaged in conversation.

Tan showed the student around the park, telling her that he had been to Thailand and that he taught Buddhist teachings.

He brought her to a nearby bench and claimed that he had "a Buddha" inside him.

They sat cross-legged on the bench facing each other.

Tan pressed their palms together and began to chant.

Tan said she was experiencing a "love problem", and as the student did have such a problem, she talked to him about it.

Tan asked her to follow him to another bench a short distance away.

They sat and faced each other again, resuming their earlier conversation.

Touched woman without consent

Without warning and without her consent, he hugged the woman, touched her eyebrow and neck, and placed his hand on her chest, chanting for 2 minutes.

He then massaged her shoulders and back. Tan told her to stand up. He positioned himself behind her and hugged her from behind, with his lower body touching her buttocks.

Feeling uncomfortable, she moved away and told Tan that she was frightened of him. Tan told her not to be scared as he had "the Buddha in him".

He hugged the woman, pressing his chest against hers.

Tan said he wanted to "crack" her back and she would have to sit on his lap.

She refused, and Tan told her to lie down on the bench.

Once she lay down, Tan touched her face and neck before kissing her, and pressed his palms against her breast over her clothes, belly and leg without her consent.

She reported the incident to the police on the same day.

Second molest incident

The day after on Dec. 13, Tan went to Fort Canning Park and met two local students.

He introduced himself to the then 18-year-old female students, and offered to bring them around for a tour of the park.

He told them a story of learning massage techniques in Thailand, and said his skills could "heal their medical ailments".

Tan led them to a nearby bench, and asked one of the students to sit on his lap with her back facing towards him.

He held on to her waist and massaged her back in an upwards direction.

Tan used both his hands to touch the sides of her breasts without her consent, and placed his hands across her chest, touching her breasts over her yoga cropped top for a few seconds.

He then told her that she had "women's problems" and touched her exposed abdomen without her consent.

Tan led the two students to a nearby hut with a bench, and molested the same student again.

The two students made a police report in the wee hours of the next morning at Bukit Merah Neighbourhood Police Centre.

Sentencing

CNA reported that the prosecutor asked for 12 to 16 months' jail, saying Tan had used a form of deception on two levels.

Firstly, he lulled victims in with a false sense of security by giving them a tour around the park and portraying himself as a morally upright and spiritually influenced person.

Secondly, he tricked his victims by convincing them that he had the skills to "heal" them.

Those found guilty of outrage of modesty can be punished with a jail term of up to three years, or fined, or caned, or receive any of these combinations.

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