Chinese national molested woman at Serangoon MRT station in 2018, arrested 7 years later upon returning to S'pore

A woman in Singapore was walking along the railway platform of Serangoon MRT station on Aug. 22, 2018 when an unknown man walking in the opposite direction used his left forearm to forcefully brush against her groin area over her shorts.

When the woman, then 21, moved away from him and reached an area with more commuters, the man, Zhang Yang, a Chinese national, then 27, walked past her and molested her again.

After the train arrived, Zhang kept his eyes on the woman and waited for other passengers to board before entering the same door as her.

As he repeatedly turned to look at her throughout the journey, the woman, fearing for her safety, sought help from a male commuter sitting next to her, who assured her that he would stay with her.

Eventually, Zhang alighted the train before the woman, and she lodged a police report against him on the same night.

Although Zhang left Singapore shortly after the incident due to the expiration of his work permit, he was arrested around seven years later on Mar. 26, 2025 when he returned to Singapore.

On May 7, Zhang, now 34, was sentenced to three weeks' imprisonment after admitting to his offence.

Zhang continued pursuing victim

According to court documents seen by Mothership, the victim arrived at the platform of Serangoon MRT at around 6:31pm on Aug. 22, 2018, intending to travel to Little India.

She then walked towards one end of the platform and crossed paths with Zhang, who was working as a construction worker in Singapore at the time.

Although she was shocked by Zhang's violation, the victim continued walking towards the end of the platform while Zhang continued in the other direction.

Upon reaching approximately two doors away from her position, Zhang turned around and walked back towards the victim.

When he reached her near the end of the platform and walked past her at very close proximity, the victim immediately moved away from that end of the platform.

She then returned to where more commuters were standing, as she was fearful that Zhang would touch her inappropriately again.

Molested her twice within 1 minute

Upon reaching an area with more people, the victim stood still, facing the train tracks.

Zhang, who had followed behind her, walked past her and molested her again at around 6:32am, less than a minute after the first incident.

Despite leaving the victim in shock and fear, Zhang continued walking towards the other end before turning around and walking past her again at close proximity.

When the victim moved to the train queueing area where other commuters were waiting, Zhang walked back and forth continuously along the platform while staring at her occasionally.

In response, the victim had to periodically turn to monitor his location out of concern for her safety.

The scene was captured by a CCTV camera at the MRT train, and screenshots of the footage were included in court documents.

Victim sought help from male commuter

When the train arrived, the victim boarded it and sat between two passengers.

Zhang initially stood in front of her before sitting a few spaces to her left side in a reserved seat.

As he repeatedly turned to look at her, the victim wrote a note on her phone, stating, "Can you help me? The man in the striped shirt sitting on the reserved seat on your left touched me twice and I think he's following me."

She then showed the note to the male passenger sitting beside her, who then asked which stop she would be alighting at and assured her he would stay beside her.

Zhang eventually alighted two to three stops after Serangoon station, while the victim remained on the train.

She subsequently travelled to Bugis, where she met her younger sister and her boyfriend and told them about Zhang's crime.

The trio headed to Rochor Neighbourhood Police Centre on the same night, and the victim lodged a police report at around 9:36pm.

Zhang: did not recall molesting victim

Following Zhang's arrest on Mar. 26, 2025, he was released on personal bond the following day.

He was arrested again on Apr. 16 and has remained in remand since, as he was unable to raise bail.

During investigations, Zhang claimed that he did not recall molesting the victim, even though the footage of his crime was shown to him.

Sentenced to jail

On May 7, Zhang was sentenced to three weeks in jail after he pleaded guilty to one count of outrage of modesty, reported The Straits Times.

Another similar charge was taken into consideration for his sentencing.

During court proceedings, Zhang pleaded for a lighter sentence, stating that he was "very remorseful" about his offences and that he needed to take care of his elderly parents and children.

He further claimed that he committed his offence while he was intoxicated and that this would be the first time he would be jailed.

In response, the public prosecutor told the court that there was no evidence to show Zhang had consumed alcohol.

The prosecutor also said that, in general, intoxication is an aggravating factor, rather than a mitigating factor.

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