Jailed for molesting girls aged 7 and 14
Man arrested last year for molesting girl, 7
He was arrested last October for molesting a then-seven-year-old girl at Boon Lay Shopping Centre.
But just four months later, while he was out on bail, Malaysian storekeeper Lim Kok Leong, 29, molested a second girl - aged 14.
The charge for the second incident was taken into consideration when Lim was sentenced yesterday to six months' jail.
The court heard that on Sept 21, Lim spotted the seven-year-old when she was at the mall with her parents that evening.
While she was looking at some lanterns hanging outside a shop on the ground floor, he walked past her and touched her buttocks with his left hand.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Nicholas Lai said the girl did not say anything at first as she thought Lim had touched her by accident.
Lim walked away and watched her from a distance - to check if she had reacted. When he noticed that she did not make a fuss, he went towards her again and touched her buttocks for the second time.
This time, the girl told her mother who shouted at Lim to stop.
Lim did not look back and ran away.
The girl's parents chased him but he managed to get away.
The mother made a police report around 9.30pm that day.
Officers arrested Lim a month later, in October, after they conducted an extensive investigation.
NEXT VICTIM
Then, instead of lying low, Lim met his next victim at an HDB block in Boon Lay Avenue.
According to court documents, they were in a lift at Block 185, Boon Lay Avenue, when Lim touched the 14-year-old's back and buttocks.
DPP Lai urged District Judge Lim Tse Haw to jail Lim for at least four months.
He stressed that Lim molested his first victim in public, in full view of others.
Lim, who was not represented by a lawyer, admitted in his mitigation plea that he had made a mistake.
Pleading for a lighter sentence, he told the court he wanted to return home earlier as his father was in hospital.
Before handing out the sentence, Judge Lim said that he agreed with the prosecution.
He also noted that Lim's first victim was young and that he had offended again while he was out on bail.
For outraging the girl's modesty, he could have been jailed up to five years and fined or caned.
Get The New Paper on your phone with the free TNP app. Download from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store now