A male taxi driver came onto his 14-year-old passenger, first touching the boy then molesting and groping him, despite the latter rejecting his advances.

Accepted ride

According to court documents, the incident happened on Jan. 28, 2021.

Ong Tong Chye, who was 60 years old then, accepted a booking on a ride-hailing mobile application sometime before 1:04am.

He picked up the victim and another boy from Westgate Mall in Jurong East.

Court documents stated that the passengers were both 14 years old and in a "romantic relationship" at that time.

The victim, who cannot be identified due to a gag order, and the boy sat in the taxi's passenger seat and chatted with Ong.

The victim continued chatting with Ong after his boyfriend alighted and they discussed topics related to homosexuality.

Molested and groped the victim

Ong stopped the taxi sometime later and asked the victim to move to the front passenger seat.

The victim agreed.

The pair were conversing when Ong said he wanted to touch the victim's hand.

The victim rejected Ong but he ignored the boy and started stroking his hand while driving.

Even after the victim pushed him away, Ong continued and told the boy he wanted to touch his nipples.

The victim rejected Ong but he ignored the boy once more, proceeding to molest him.

The victim tried to put some distance between himself and Ong, leaning against the car door, but Ong did not stop.

Ong then said he wanted to touch the victim's private parts.

He ignored the victim's rejection and touched him on the thigh and groped him over his pants.

Court documents stated that Ong did all these while he was driving.

Police report lodged

When the taxi got to the second destination at around 1:49am, the victim shouted that he wanted to go home but Ong did not allow him to leave the taxi.

The victim was only allowed to leave after he gave Ong a false phone number.

Once home, the victim told his grandmother that Ong molested him.

He also told his teacher what happened when he was in school later that day on Jan. 28, 2021 and was brought to a police centre to lodge a report within the same day.

Pleaded guilty on first day of trial

Ong was charged with one count of using criminal force to outrage the victim's modesty.

If convicted, Ong could have been jailed for up to two years, caned, fined, or handed any combination of these punishments.

However, he cannot be caned as he is over the age of 50.

Ong, who is 62 now, pleaded guilty to the offence on the first day of the trial.

The prosecution sought an imprisonment term between 11 to 13 months, noting that Ong had groped the victim, the victim's age, and that he was at Ong's mercy.

The prosecution did not submit for an imprisonment term in lieu of caning as there were no "substantial aggravating factors such as violence used" nor was there skin-to-skin contact.

Sentenced to jail

Ong was sentenced to 11 months' jail on Jul. 17, 2023.

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