Peruvian man, 60, holds hand with girl, 13, without her consent at Dhoby Ghaut MRT station, gets 16 weeks' jail, including for theft

On May 18, 2025, a 13-year-old girl assisted a 60-year-old Peruvian man in finding directions to the Downtown Line at Dhoby Ghaut MRT station located along the North-East Line (NEL).

However, after the train arrived, the man, Pacheco Gutierrez Julian Roberto, approached her again before pulling her into the train cabin by the hand and guiding her to sit next to him.

After they sat down, Roberto placed his left hand onto the right side of the girl's lap, while continuing to speak to her.

When the train reached the next station at Little India, Roberto continued holding onto her right hand and even asked her to follow him to a restaurant.

Although Roberto left the train cabin after the girl declined his invitation, his crime came to light after her father alerted the police at around 5:30pm on the same day.

On Jul. 21, Roberto was sentenced to 16 weeks' jail after admitting to his offences, reported Shin Min Daily News.

Came to Singapore to commit theft

According to court documents seen by Mothership, Roberto, who worked as a chef at a restaurant in Penang, arrived in Singapore from Kuala Lumpur on May 11, 2025.

He intended to spend two weeks in Singapore before transiting to Penang and was granted 30 days of stay.

However, court documents revealed that Roberto actually flew to Singapore with the intention to commit theft in the country, as his friend had informed him beforehand that committing theft in Singapore "was easy".

Approached girl at Dhoby Ghaut

When Roberto approached the girl for directions on May 18, she informed him that he could take the train to Little India MRT station, where he could transfer to the Downtown Line.

However, when the train approached Dhoby Ghaut station, Roberto went towards the girl again and held her hand without her consent.

When he pulled her into the train cabin, guided her to sit next to him, and placed his hand next to her lap, the girl was shocked and did not know how to respond.

After Roberto alighted at Little India station, the girl continued travelling towards her destination in Sengkang.

Upon reaching Sengkang MRT station, the girl informed her elder sister about Roberto's deeds via a call, and her sister notified their father.

The girl's father alerted the police after learning about what had transpired.

Stole handbag at Jalan Besar

Before touching the girl inappropriately on May 18, court documents revealed that Roberto had committed two cases of theft two days in a row.

Investigations showed that at around 9:14pm on May 16, Roberto entered a restaurant along Syed Alwi Road, while a female tourist was having a meal with her husband.

After walking around the restaurant, Roberto took away the tourist's handbag, which was placed on the chair next to her.

The handbag was worth around S$45.21 and contained several valuables, including a pair of gold earrings (S$602.78), a phone (S$602.89), and cash amounting to around S$37.67.

After taking the handbag, Roberto went to a nearby corner and searched through it.

Upon noticing there was nothing of value aside from the phone and the handbag contained personal documents, Roberto took the phone and left the handbag behind.

The stolen items were not recovered, and Roberto had yet to make any restitution as of Jul. 15.

Stole wallet at Lau Pa Sat

Roberto committed the other theft case at a restaurant at Lau Pa Sat hawker centre at around 11pm on May 17.

Investigations revealed that he took a Louis Vuitton wallet from a female diner's handbag when she was not paying attention.

The wallet was valued at S$1,000 and contained several valuables, including foreign currency amounting to around S$1,110 and four bank cards.

This time, Roberto also took the wallet to a nearby corner and searched through it.

He took the money from the wallet before discarding it.

Around S$653.78 of foreign currency was eventually recovered from Roberto.

Jailed for 16 weeks

Following police reports lodged by both theft victims and the girl's father, Roberto was arrested on May 21.

He was handed five charges by the court, including outrage of modesty and theft, and was placed in remand since May 23, reported Shin Min.

On Jul. 21, Roberto was sentenced to 16 weeks' jail after pleading guilty to three of the charges.

Top image via Google Maps