SINGAPORE: Bangladeshi Ali Md Ripon, 30, was handed two molestation charges on Thursday (July 18) for allegedly inappropriately touching two women, aged 25 and 43, in the waters off Palawan Beach in Sentosa on May 1.
In an unrelated case, a second Bangladeshi, Sani Mozammel Hoque, 30 allegedly squeezed a 35-year-old woman’s right buttock in an Orchard Road lingerie store on May 5 at around 7.30pm.
They were among several men who were hauled to court on July 18 after they allegedly committed molestation in unrelated incidents.
They included three Singaporean senior citizens. One of them, Chiang Sui Hock, 82, is said to have to touched a 35-year-old woman’s back and right buttock in a Clementi West shop on June 7 shortly before 2pm.
Separately, Hassan Mohamed, 63, allegedly touched a 16-year-old girl’s shoulders and kissed her cheek at Compass One shopping mall in Sengkang Square on Feb 6 at around 4pm.
The third senior citizen, Gerald Chai Meng Seng, 63, is accused of molesting a 16-year-old boy inside a toilet cubicle at Delta Swimming Complex in Tiong Bahru Road on May 9 at around 1.45pm.
K. R. Ronash Kabilan, 25, was served the most number of charges. The Singaporean is accused of three counts of molestation and one count of voyeurism involving the same 24-year-old woman.
He is accused of molesting her at a Clarke Quay bar on Sept 2, 2023, at around 8pm. Around two hours later, he was at a nearby overhead bridge when he allegedly used his mobile phone to capture images and videos of her breasts and buttocks without her consent.
Zac Liu Zhi Zhuang, 34, was charged with outraging a 29-year-old woman’s modesty in a bank in Hougang on Jan 5 at around 11am.
The cases involving all the men have been adjourned to August.
For each count of molestation, an offender can be jailed for up to three years, fined, caned or receive any combination of such punishments. However, caning cannot be meted out to offenders over 50 years old. - The Straits Times/ANN
