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[Editor's note on Jan. 13: The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) said that the perpetrator is no longer an MOM employee. We have updated the article accordingly.]

A 57-year-old Singaporean man was sentenced to one year and five months' jail on Tuesday (Jan. 10) for molesting an underage girl.

He had pleaded guilty to one count of using criminal force by intending to outrage the modesty of the victim.

Another charge was taken into consideration in his sentencing.

According to court documents seen by Mothership, the man, named Loh Jin, was working as a housing officer with the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) when he committed the offence.

The victim, who is now 13 years old, was 11 at the time.

What happened

Took a picture of the victim and her younger brother at the playground

At about 4pm on Oct. 19, 2020, the victim and her younger brother alighted from the bus at a bus stop in Toa Payoh.

They then played with three other children, who were aged five to six years old, at a playground near the bus stop.

Loh had also taken the same bus as the victim and her brother, and alighted at the same bus stop.

Court documents stated that he noticed the victim playing with her brother at the playground and walked over to the area.

He subsequently took a picture of them with his mobile phone.

Followed them home

At about 5:30pm, the victim and her brother decided to head back to their house, which was within walking distance of the playground.

Loh followed them to the ground floor of their block and entered the lift when they did, but he did not press any button in the lift.

The victim and her brother alighted at the 11th floor and headed towards their home. Loh continued to follow them.

When the two kids entered their house, Loh went inside as well.

The victim's parents were not in the house at the time.

Molested her after showing her the picture he took

According to court documents, the victim was surprised to see Loh entering the house.

She informed him that her parents had instructed her to not let strangers into their home.

Loh then showed the victim the picture that he had taken of her and her brother, before he molested her.

Shocked by the unwanted touch, the victim recoiled and took a step back, before crying.

Upon seeing that the victim was distressed, Loh quickly left the house and took the staircase down to the ground floor of the block. He then immediately called for a taxi to head home.

The victim later called the police and told them what had happened to her.

MOM said that they were informed of the police's investigations into former employee Loh Jin.

The ministry added:

"Pending the outcome of investigations, we had suspended him from duty in October 2020 and subsequently did not renew his contract when it expired in August 2021.

Loh is no longer in MOM’s employment."

Prosecution sought for one year and six months’ jail

The prosecution sought for one year and six months' imprisonment, stating that Loh was "persistent in his offending conduct".

"This was not committed on the spur of the moment, and was a premeditated offence," added the prosecution.

Defence lawyer Josiah Zee, on the other hand, asked for a maximum of one year's jail, with two months in lieu of caning if warranted, as reported by CNA.

Those aged 50 and above cannot be caned in Singapore.

Zee argued, according to CNA, that this was Loh's first brush with the law, and that he had cooperated with the police and pleaded guilty at an early stage.

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Top image by Jonathan Chan via Unsplash for illustration purposes only.