A Singaporean court has sentenced an Indian software techie to jail for nine weeks for molesting a woman in a crowded metro train.
Though the Indian, identified as Rajagopala Soundararaja Panneer Selvan, would have been jailed for two years, but the court reduced the sentence after he admitted to molesting a 28-year-old woman in a metro coach and apologised for his actions.
Ng Yiwen, Deputy Public Prosecutor, told the court that when the woman boarded the metro train at Singapore’s Kembangan station on March 16, she felt that someone was pushing her from behind in the coach. She, however, did not pay much attention. Soon, the same thing happened again. When she turned around, she saw a man standing behind her, who was later identified as the accused.
Yiwen added, “When the train arrived at City Hall station in Singapore's Central Business District, the man got out and walked away to the opposite platform, while the woman continued to Tanjong Pagar.”
The Deputy Public Prosecutor said the woman filed a police complaint in order to stop Selvan from molesting other women. The police arrested him on April 18. A second charge of touching a woman in a metro train was also considered against him.
Ravindrapal Singh, the convict's lawyer said his client realised his action was wrong. The prosecutor then sought at least a six-week jail term, saying a deterrence sentence will discourage him from committing such an offence in the future.
District Judge Samuel Chua backdated the accused's sentence to July 13.
