S’pore PR, 46, gets jail & caning for restraining recruiter in nursing room to molest her

A 46-year-old Indian national and Singapore permanent resident, Ankit Sharma, was sentenced to four years’ imprisonment and six strokes of the cane for the offence of aggravated outrage of modesty.

The victim, who cannot be named due to a gag order on her identity, was working as a technology specialist recruiter.

She had linked up with the accused when one of her colleagues shared his profile with her.

The meeting between both of them at Changi City Point started professionally, with discussions regarding the employment status of Ankit and his wife.

The meeting between the accused and the victim

According to court documents seen by Mothership, both of them proceeded to have a few alcoholic drinks at the bar, and that was when the conversation turned inappropriate.

Ankit had inquired about the victim’s relationship status, including “the nationalities she had dated before” and “why she had chosen an introverted person to be her current partner”.

These intrusive questions had prompted the victim to excuse herself to the toilet.

There, she sent text messages to her then-boyfriend, asking him to “check in with her by 9:00pm”.

She explained that the man she was interviewing was, “a bit drunk and I try to protect myself”.

After returning from the toilet, the questions turned increasingly invasive.

Ankit had now started asking her about her sexual history and preferences. The victim, alarmed, excused herself to use the toilet again.

She called three people, but only one friend initially picked up.

She asked her friend to come and pick her up, as “this guy is talking about sex”.

When her then-boyfriend also returned her call, the victim asked him to come over as well.

Forced inside a nursing room and sexually assaulted

When the victim stepped out to head back to the bar, Ankit was waiting for her just outside the toilet.

He asked her if she was an “impromptu person”, and when she replied in the affirmative, he grabbed the victim and pulled her into a nursing room.

The accused closed the door, grabbed the victim’s upper arms and proceeded to kiss her.

The victim had tried to push Ankit away, but was unsuccessful.

When the victim was able to temporarily break off the kiss, Ankit lifted her head back up, forcefully pushed her back onto his body, and resumed the kissing.

He then forced her onto a chair in the corner of the nursing room, sandwiched her legs in between his and continued to kiss her.

Ankit then made the victim touch his private part and also proceeded to pull her underwear down.

The victim had shouted at him to stop and that she was on her period.

“Okay. Do you want to go to the hotel?” he had asked, to which she replied, "no".

At this point, Ankit performed a sex act in front of her victim.

With her hands now freed, the victim sent out text messages.

The accused only stopped what he was doing when the victim’s manager called her.

“I’m in Changi City Point. I’m in the baby room. Come now,” the victim had urged.

Defence rejected

According to the defence’s case, the victim had “all of a sudden” asked Ankit if he wanted to go to a hotel.

She had also asked him if he was “interested in kisses”.

He responded that they could share a taxi back home and kiss inside the vehicle.

The defence claimed it was then that the victim herself offered the proposal to kiss in the nursing room instead.

In the nursing room, Ankit eventually stopped kissing the victim as there was a “really bad smell coming from her mouth”.

The accused alleged that the victim then unzipped his pants and consensually performed a sex act on him.

Ankit claimed that the victim tried to kiss him again, but he pushed her away due to the smell from her mouth.

In response, the defence claimed that the victim had also pushed Ankit away and cursed at him. She then followed him out of the nursing room.

Outcome

The victim testified in court that the assault had left her emotionally shaken, affected her trust in others, and disrupted her work performance.

Ankit’s lawyer had sought a lighter sentence of three to three-and-a-half years' jail, with three to five strokes of the cane, as reported by Channel News Asia (CNA).

However, the prosecution called for at least four years and six strokes instead, citing the degree of sexual exploitation as “extremely high”, and the judge agreed.

The court found Ankit guilty at the end of trial.

Top images via Google Maps, Uniquelious/Blogspot