The incident happened in the early hours of March 8 after the man and his wife and friends had drinks at club Ce La Vi on the 57th floor of Marina Bay Sands. - ST FILE
SINGAPORE: While he was taking a lift at Marina Bay Sands (MBS) with his wife and friends, a man glanced at another woman’s buttocks and molested her as he exited.
Chinese national Hu Guisheng, 39, was jailed for six days after pleading guilty to one charge for outrage of modesty on Wednesday (Oct 22).
He was on a social visit pass to Singapore and was staying at MBS with his wife and friends.
The incident happened in the early hours of March 8 after they had drinks at club Ce La Vi on the 57th floor.
They left the club at about 1.34am and waited for the lift. The victim, who cannot be identified as there is a gag order on her identity, was also waiting for the lift.
CCTV footage of the incident played in court showed Hu holding his wife’s hand as they entered the lift.
When the lift reached level one, the victim held the door open for the others to exit before her.
Hu waited for everyone to step out of the lift before he moved forward to stand next to the victim. Then he took a quick glance at her buttocks and molested her as he exited.
Shocked, the victim tried to stop Hu as he was about to leave with his wife and friends. She then sought assistance from hotel security, who stopped Hu at the lift lobby.
Hu was arrested at 2.50am, and released on bail at about 2pm on the same day.
Court documents did not specify if Hu was intoxicated at the time of the offence.
The prosecution asked for a sentence of one to three weeks’ jail for Hu, citing that there was sexual exploitation of the victim, given that he touched her buttocks, which is more intrusive than touching other parts of the body such as the limbs.
The victim was also shocked and in distress after the incident, the prosecution said.
Hu’s lawyer, Peter Ong from Peter Ong Law Corporation, argued for a fine, saying Hu was remorseful about his actions.
Ong added that Hu had previously offered S$5,000 to the victim as compensation, and was willing to make a public apology.
This, however, was rejected by the victim.
Ong also told the court that the incident has affected Hu’s business, which is on the brink of financial collapse. That in itself is a significant punishment for his offence, the defence lawyer said.
In response, the prosecutor argued that Hu’s financial losses arose from his own actions, and thus could not be seen as a mitigating factor.
In sentencing, District Judge Janet Wang agreed that there was a degree of sexual exploitation as Hu’s actions were deliberate.
She noted that he waited for everyone else to exit the lift before molesting the victim, and the touch was not “fleeting”, implying some degree of criminal force.
For outrage of modesty, an offender can be jailed for up to three years, fined, caned, or receive any combination of such punishments. - The Straits Times/ANN
