S'porean man, 26, cut woman's hair on bus to sniff it afterwards, was 'sexually aroused' by her long hair

Edwin Chow Rui Xiong, 26, boarded bus service 185 in Dover on Aug. 3.

He sat on the upper deck, where he noticed a woman with a ponytail board the bus.

He was sexually aroused by her long hair, and moved to sit behind her.

Chow then took out a pair of scissors from his bag and cut two inches of her hair before placing it in a small plastic bag.

He intended to sniff it afterwards.

However shortly after he cut her hair, the woman felt her ponytail and noticed something amiss.

She turned around to confront Chow, who remained silent.

She then reported the incident to the driver, and police were called.

The police found five pair of scissors and other plastic bags containing hair in Chow's bag.

Chow, who later admitted he was aroused by cutting and sniffing long hair, was arrested on the same day.

According to The Straits Times, when asked if he wanted to say anything in mitigation, he smiled and said: "Nothing."

After prompting from the judge, Chow then said he wished to have a lighter sentence as he had a doctor's appointment at IMH the next week.

Chow pleaded guilty to the use of criminal force with the intent of outraging modesty and being armed with instruments for cutting.

Two other charges pertaining to him cutting the hair of two other victims on two different buses the day prior were taken into account in the sentencing.

The prosecution also noted that Chow had a criminal record, previously being sentenced to 21 months' probation in 2020 for theft and assault, Shin Min Daily News reported.

He was sentenced to two and a half months in jail.

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