A woman, who is in her late 30s, flew from London to Singapore to testify against music producer, Ken Lim Chih Chiang, on May 6.

This was after the alleged victim decided to step forward to make a police report against Lim some 11 years after he allegedly said sexually inappropriate words to her, which can be a crime tantamount to insulting the modesty of a woman.

CNA and The Straits Times reported that Lim, 60, is facing seven charges to be contested in five separate trials.

Details about the woman's encounter with Lim were revealed by the deputy public prosecutor in court.

What happened

The woman who stepped forward to report Lim to the police, was a singer-songwriter when she met him back in 2012.

She was 26 years old then.

Lim was publicly known as a judge on "Singapore Idol" during that time.

During their second meeting, he allegedly asked if she was a virgin and what would happen if he had sex with her right then.

Lim was in his late 40s then and the executive director of record label Hype Records.

After that exchange, Lim asked the woman to avoid telling her parents and boyfriend that she was meeting him.

Lim then asked the victim 13 days later after the second meeting how she was doing and if she was still traumatised.

The woman did not report Lim to the police as she did not know that uttering sexually inappropriate words was a crime.

Lim and the woman stopped talking in January 2013, after he told her about a new talent show.

More witnesses to come forward

The prosecutor said the woman told her voice coach that Lim was dodgy and also told her drummer that Lim was sleazy to her.

Both witnesses will testify.

The woman's husband and family members will also testify about what she told them after meeting Lim for the second time.

The woman only realised that the things Lim said could be criminal after seeing reports of his charges for sexually insulting words in June 2023, the court also heard.

The victim also said she was relieved that she had not been molested and did not report the matter.

The prosecutor said, in the words of the victim: ‘Maybe I owe it to myself and all the other girls... now that I am older and wiser’”.

Court cleared for woman to testify

Lim's lawyers argued for the woman to testify in public since she made the accusations publicly, while the public prosecutor sought for the witness to give her testimony in-camera and for the public gallery to be cleared.

The district judge granted the prosecution's application.

Background

In March 2023, Lim was charged with molesting a 25-year-old woman in his office on Nov. 23, 2021.

More police reports were filed subsequently.

This culminated in another six charges accusing him of insulting the modesty of another four women at his office or home between 1998 and 2013.

Lim allegedly asked one victim how she could “write deeper songs” if she was sexually inexperienced.

He apparently also told another “that if she could have sex for nothing, why not have sex for something”.

Penalties

The penalty for molestation is up to two years in jail, a fine, caning, or any combination of these punishments.

The penalty for uttering sexually insulting words is jail for up to a year, a fine, or both for each charge.

Top photos via Singapore Idol