June 15, 2023, 10:43 AM
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A Swiss man smacked the butt of a female Zouk employee while she was bent over and cleaning a table — and tried to run away when she called for security.
On course in Singapore
The 40-year-old Swiss national, Ramon Taboada Souza Neto, arrived in Singapore on Mar. 27, 2023, to attend a two-week course.
He patronised Zouk on Apr. 1, 2023, while the 39-year-old victim, a "table hostess", was working the floor at Zouk's VIP section.The pair did not know each other.
The victim cannot be identified due to a gag order.
Smacked her butt
On the day of the incident, the victim had bent over to clean a table at around 3:23am when Ramon approached her from behind and smacked her left butt with his right hand without her consent.
His actions were captured by Zouk's CCTV cameras.
The victim turned around immediately and saw him standing near her.
She subsequently informed Zouk's security officers that Ramon had molested her, and a security officer approached Ramon to speak to him.
Tried to flee
Ramon exited the premises when the security officer questioned him about the incident.
The security officers outside Zouk detained him, and one of them called the police for assistance at about 3:31am, saying, "A molest case. Detained him and he is trying to run. Victim is with us."
Ramon was arrested by police officers attending to the incident and was released on S$1,000 bail within the same day.
Gets S$4,000 fine
On Jun. 12, 2023, Ramon pleaded guilty to a charge of outrage of modesty and was handed a fine of S$4,000.
During the mitigation plea, Ramon's lawyer, Navin Naidu from Dentons Rodyk & Davidson, told the district judge Ramon had no criminal background.
Claimed he drank too much
Navin claimed Ramon committed the offence because he drank too much.
Even though the Health Sciences Authority found no traces of alcohol in Ramon's blood sample, Navin explained that the alcohol might have been fully metabolised since the sample was obtained more than 10 hours after the incident.
Wrote victim an apology letter
Navin pointed out that Ramon was remorseful for his actions, adding that he had written a letter to the victim on Apr. 23, 2023, to apologise.
He said Ramon hopes to reunite with his family in Switzerland as soon as possible, as his wife is expecting their fourth child.
Navin added that Ramon had to stay in Singapore for over 70 days because of the incident, which was stressful for him.
Top image from Zouk Singapore/Facebook
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