S'porean man, 26, shows lewd note on phone to teen girls on MRT, gets 12 days' jail

A Singaporean man was sentenced to 12 days' jail after he showed a lewd note he had saved on his phone to teenagers on the MRT train.

Tan Tee Yong, 26, did so to two victims in separate incidents in April 2024, according to court documents seen by Mothership.

He showed the same note to both victims, which said, “I like you”, “Will you be with me?”, “Hold my hand”, and “Touch my c*ck”.

On Jan. 28, he pleaded guilty to one charge of intentionally insulting the modesty of a 16-year-old girl.

The other incident, which involved a girl who was 17 at the time, was taken into consideration for sentencing.

What happened

The 16-year-old victim made a police report hours after the incident, stating that a man "in his 30s", who sat beside her on the train, had shown her an offensive note in his phone.

Investigations later revealed that Tan got on the train at Caldecott station at about 7:49am on Apr. 30, 2024, and took an empty seat next to her.

Shortly after, Tan held out his phone and showed the lewd note to her.

When she saw the note, she moved away immediately.

Tan alighted at Springleaf station.

She told the station manager there what had happened, and later reported it at a neighbourhood police centre as well.

The other incident happened four days earlier, at around the same time in the morning, and on the same Thomson East Coast Line train route.

Tan was eventually arrested on May 23, 2024.

The judgement

The prosecutor called for Tan to be jailed between 12 and 17 days, according to CNA.

He highlighted that the offence took place in a public transport setting and that the victim was young.

Tan, who had no past convictions, knew what he did was wrong, his lawyer said.

"It's just that he did not realise the seriousness of what he has done," the lawyer added.

He could have been jailed for up to a year, fined, or both, for insulting a person's modesty.

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