SMU student accused of molesting woman in study room on campus
He allegedly committed offence in study room on campus; in separate case, Japanese teacher gets jail for upskirt video, obscene films
A Singapore Management University (SMU) student was taken to court last Friday after he allegedly molested a 21-year-old woman in a study room on campus early this year.
Lee Yan Ru, 23, faces a single charge of outraging the woman's modesty and is out on bail of $5,000.
He is accused of rubbing his exposed genitals against her chest in a third-level study room at SMU's School of Economics and Social Sciences at around 6.30am on Jan 8.
The case was first reported by The New Paper and Lee was identified as a business student.
He was arrested on campus after the police were alerted to the case at 6.35am.
The alleged victim, who posted about the alleged incident on social media, was a psychological science undergraduate but was not an SMU student, The Straits Times reported.
She cannot be named to protect her identity.
In an earlier statement, SMU said the case was being taken seriously and it had embarked on its own internal inquiry.
Lee's case has been adjourned to Jan 20 next year. If convicted, he can be jailed for up to two years and fined or caned.
In a separate case, a Japanese teacher at an education centre was yesterday jailed for 24 days and fined $15,000 for taking an upskirt video of a 25-year-old woman and possessing 30 obscene films.
Shohei Yamamoto, 33, will spend 20 more days in prison as he could not pay the fine.
The victim, who cannot be named to protect her identity, had boarded a North-East Line train at Boon Keng MRT station on June 29 at about 9.30am.
When he boarded the same train at Potong Pasir MRT station, Yamamoto noticed her and formed the intention to insult her modesty by taking an upskirt video of her.
He then moved close to the woman, placed his phone on top of his briefcase with the camera facing upwards, and moved the briefcase beneath her skirt.
But the woman felt a brush on her left calf, looked down, and saw the phone.
She confronted Yamamoto after they alighted at Dhoby Ghaut MRT station and demanded to check his phone.
He refused and fled.
The woman gave chase but could not catch up so she reported it to the station master, who called the police.
Yamamoto was later traced and arrested. By that time, he had deleted the upskirt video and it could not be recovered.
But a digital forensic examination of Yamamoto's laptop and a second mobile phone recovered 30 obscene video files.
For insulting a woman's modesty, he could have been jailed for up to a year, fined, or both.
For possessing an obscene film, he could have been fined up to $20,000, jailed for up to six months, or both.
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