Technician molested girl, 8, while working at her home
A technician was working at the home of an eight-year-old girl when he took the child to a balcony and molested her.
Seven months later, Molla Shohidul, a Bangladeshi national, claimed to be unwell and did not go to work.
Instead of resting in his dormitory, he went to the child’s home, lured her to a staircase landing and molested her again.
He also used his mobile phone to snap at least five pictures of the victim’s private parts.
On March 15, Molla, 32, was sentenced to five years and six months’ jail after he pleaded guilty to two molestation charges. He was also ordered to receive eight strokes of the cane.
The victim cannot be named due to a gag order to protect her identity. Details about Molla’s dormitory and the child’s home have also been redacted from court documents.
In mid 2021, the victim’s mother engaged Molla’s employer to perform maintenance and repairs to the air-conditioning units in her maisonette flat.
Between June 2021 and March 2022, Molla visited the unit at least five times and got to know the victim.
He was working alone on the first floor of the flat during one of the visits on Oct 22, 2021, when he took the child to a balcony and molested her.
Deputy public prosecutors Lim Yu Hui and Huo Jiongrui stated in court documents: “The victim did not resist. After approximately 20 seconds, the accused gave the victim a piece of paper with his phone number on it and left the victim alone.
“The victim did not report the matter to anyone as she did not know that the accused’s acts were wrong.”
On May 5, 2022, Molla did not report for work after claiming to be unwell and went to the victim’s block of flats again. He took a lift to her flat twice in the afternoon to check if the victim was at home.
She returned home with her domestic helper at around 4.40pm, said the prosecutors.
Shortly after 5pm, Molla took a lift to her flat, stood outside the main gate and snapped a picture of the child who was sitting on a sofa in the living room.
Her parents were at work at the time and the maid was on the second floor of the flat, attending to the child’s sister.
Molla beckoned the victim to come out, and the child, who recognised him, complied.
He then lured the girl to a nearby staircase landing and molested her. He also snapped pictures of her private parts.
The maid, who had heard the gate closing, questioned her when she came home. The victim then told the woman about her ordeal.
The maid immediately alerted the victim’s mother who accompanied the child to lodge a police report later that day.
Molla was arrested on May 6, 2022, and officers seized his mobile phone. Investigators later found the incriminating photographs on the device.
The DPPs said: “When he was confronted with (them), the accused claimed that the photographs looked like drawings to him, and he also claimed that they may have been sent to him as a joke from his friends.”
He had initially claimed trial but decided to plead guilty on March 14.
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