‘Extremely brazen’ flasher, 54, sentenced to five months’ jail

SINGAPORE — A 54-year-old flasher was sentenced to five months’ jail today (Oct 1) for exposing himself to a 28-year-old woman on a train in July.

The court heard that on July 30, the victim had fallen asleep on board a train heading towards Jurong East. Finding her attractive, Samyapal Muthusamy, who was seated on her left, started to rub his penis.

The victim — whose name has been withheld to protect her identity — woke up after she felt Samyapal leaning on her shoulder. At this point, he moved to a seat opposite the victim.

Finding him suspicious, she used her phone to snap a photograph of him. Moments later, he unzipped his pants, flashed the victim, and started to fondle himself while looking at her. The victim recorded the act on her phone.

Samyapal stopped within seconds and zipped up his pants. When the train pulled into Bukit Gombak Station, the victim and Samyapal alighted. Fearful that he would follow her, she hid in a 7-Eleven store before returning home and informing a friend about the incident.

Pleading guility in court today, Samyapal apologised for his offence and said that he regretted it.

However, Assistant Public Prosecutor Dillon Kok noted that he had “multiple antecedents of a similar nature”. Between 1987 and 2013, Samyapal had been fined and jailed numerous times for obscene acts in public places. Before this incident, he had appeared nude in a private area, but was seen by members of the public. “In committing the latest offence on board an MRT train, the accused was extremely brazen,” he said.

For insulting the modesty of a woman, Samyapal could have been jailed up to a year, fined, or both.