Man jailed for molesting girl who helped him cross bridge

SINGAPORE — He asked a 16-year-old girl to help him cross the road and then took the opportunity to molest her. And he did so while on police bail for a similar act committed seven months earlier.

For using criminal force with intention to outrage the teenager’s modesty, Yong Kiam Khim, 59, was yesterday sentenced to three months in prison.

A district court heard that Yong, who is medically certified with neurological conditions that give him problems with walking, had on April 10 at around 4.45pm approached the victim at the foot of an overhead bridge along Dunearn Road, uttering “help me” while pointing to the bridge.

When the girl offered her arm, Yong held on to it. He also placed his hands on her shoulder and waist for support.

When they had crossed to the other side of the bridge, Yong suddenly hugged and kissed the girl while thanking her. Taking these gestures as an expression of gratitude, she continued to help him down the stairs.

Yong then kissed her again on the cheek and did so repeatedly despite her calls for him to stop.

As they walked down the steps of the bridge, Yong continued to hold on to her waist and started to touch and stroke her in the chest area. The girl pushed his hands away and told him to stop touching her, but continued to help him down the steps as she feared that he might fall.

While taking a break from walking, Yong again hugged and forcibly kissed the girl.

When she tried to put up a struggle, he held on to her waist tightly and pressed his body against hers.

When the girl finally broke free, she ran away and informed a friend, who made a police report.

On Sept 2 last year, Yong was also charged with molesting a 20-year-old woman while on board an SBS bus. This charge was taken into consideration during his sentencing yesterday.

Pleading for leniency on his client’s behalf, defence lawyer S S Dhillon said Yong “took the first available opportunity to admit to his guilt” and was fully cooperative with the authorities during investigations.

District Judge Victor Yeo said that in sentencing Yong, he had exercised “compassion on account of Yong’s medical condition”, but also noted that the victim was of a young age and that the act was committed while she was offering him help.

Yong could have been jailed for up to two years, with a fine and caning.