Jail, cane for man who posed as cop and tried to sexually assault 11-year-old

SINGAPORE — By impersonating a police officer, Liew Tien Chye kidnapped an 11-year-old on her way to school and attempted to sexually assault the girl.

Liew, 43, a sales manager, was sentenced to eight years and 10 weeks’ jail, and three strokes of the cane on Wednesday (Jan 11), with the judge noting that being able to walk on Singapore’s streets without fear is a sacrosanct individual right.

Liew’s punishment included that for the other abetment of cheating and corruption charges he faced — he was convicted of five such offences, with another 21 similar counts taken into consideration for sentencing.

The court was told that at about 6.50am on May 29, 2013, the victim and her younger sister were walking to school when Liew pulled up in a black Mazda. He lied about being a police officer and quickly flashed a shiny white card containing a photo to fool the girls. As his step-children attended the same school as the victim, he gave the name of the school and principal as a way to boost his credibility.

Liew ordered the older girl to get into his car, and her sister to head to school. While he drove around, he told the girl he was investigating cases of underage smoking and asked her how he could determine if she smoked. She replied that he could check her mouth for the smell of cigarettes or search her bag for cigarettes.

Later, Liew stopped at an abandoned warehouse along Tannery Lane and told the girl to go in, sit on the floor and blindfold herself with a bandage.

He then asked her to open her mouth and inserted a bottle of sterile wash into her mouth. After verifying that she could not see him, he got her to open her mouth again and tried to perform a sexual act on her. 

Realising that things were amiss, the victim removed the blindfold and shouted at Liew. She left and broke down on her way home, and later confided in her parents.

It took about two weeks before Liew was arrested, after police went through more than 100 CCTV footage clips from buses, shops, and Land Transport Authority cameras.

On Wednesday, Deputy Public Prosecutor Jesintha Veijayaratnam argued that Liew had robbed the victim and her family of all sense of security. 

The girl was traumatised by the incident, saying in her victim impact statement that her life has not been the same since, turning from a cheerful and happy person to someone who keeps to herself and has trouble focusing on her studies.

In mitigation, defence lawyer Sunil Sudheesan said his client was under the influence of alcohol when he committed those acts, and has a persistent depressive disorder. His client also compensated the girl S$10,000 as a token of his sincere apology, he added.

But District Judge Shawn Ho noted that the ability to walk on Singapore’s streets at any time without fear is sacrosanct. Not only is kidnapping in Singapore rare, Liew’s attempted sexual assault of the victim in an abandoned warehouse was heinous, he added.

Separately, Liew, who was working for a supplier of construction hardware items, was also convicted of bribing and approving bribes over more than two years to business associates. On some occasions, to recover bribe amounts from clients on the sly, he lied about delivering supplies, constituting cheating.

For impersonating a public servant, Liew could have been jailed up to two years and fined. For kidnapping, he could have been jailed up to 10 years, fined or caned, while for attempting to commit sexual assault of a minor, he could have been jailed up to 10 years, fined or caned.