Man jailed for exposing himself, molesting woman on MRT train
She was on a crowded train in May last year when a man exposed himself and placed his genitals against her buttocks for a few seconds.
The incident left the woman, 31, emotionally and psychologically traumatised, a district court heard yesterday as Mohamad Rasid Mohamad Sani, 55, was jailed for five months on one count of molestation.
The married father of an 18-year-old girl was on a train heading towards Dhoby Ghaut station when the woman boarded at Boon Keng at 8.15am on May 13 last year. As she stood in front of him at one point of the journey, Rasid became aroused when his body made contact with her.
He pulled down his underwear, exposed himself through his zipper and molested the woman for about three to four seconds.
When she turned around and realised what he was doing, she shouted and took a photograph of him.
After she reported the incident to the control station at Dhoby Ghaut, Rasid was arrested later that day.
Asking for Rasid to be jailed for six months, Deputy Public Prosecutor Koh Mun Keong read out part of the victim impact statement in court.
The woman, who cannot be named to protect her identity, said: "What have I done to deserve this? I was just going to work like everyone else. Why did this happen to me?"
Rasid has since lost his job of 30 years as a technical support officer at the Institute of Technical Education.
Seeking four months' jail for her client, defence lawyer Harjeet Kaur said he had not resisted arrest and pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity.
Citing a medical report by a Raffles Hospital psychologist, she said Rasid suffered from cognitive impairment due to a motorcycle accident and was unlikely to reoffend.
"Our client is deeply embarrassed and angry with himself... He had not set out to outrage the modesty of, or cause distress to, the victim," Ms Kaur added.
DPP Koh urged District Judge Ng Peng Hong to place little weight on the report as it did not find a causal link between Rasid's condition and his offence.
For molest, Rasid could have been jailed for up to two years and/or fined. He cannot be caned as he is above 50 years old.
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