2 months’ jail for serial molester who preyed on women on buses

SINGAPORE — A man who repeatedly molested women on public buses this year by touching them on their arms, shoulders, or the side of their bodies was jailed for two months on Wednesday (Dec 12).

Serial molester Vaz Clive Hilary Cheng Kiat was previously jailed for five weeks in 2003 and fined S$4,000 in August this year for similar outrage of modesty offences on buses. The 39-year-old works as an assistant in his girlfriend’s insurance company.

His latest conviction was for two incidents that occurred in March 26 and July 23 this year.

Both victims were on their way to work and asleep on the bus when they were molested. The women, who are 32 and 24 years old, were wearing sleeveless dresses during the incidents.

The 32-year-old woman, who cannot be named to protect her identity, was travelling to Orchard Road on SBS Transit bus service number 7 when she was touched on the left side of her body under her armpit.

Vaz had boarded the bus at Napier Road and sat behind the victim on the upper deck of the bus.

As the bus was travelling along Tanglin Road, he put his left hand through the gap between the seat and the window and touched the woman.

She immediately turned around and confronted him, but Vaz denied touching her, quickly rang the bell and ran down to the lower deck.

The victim gave chase and shouted for the bus driver to stop Vaz, but he had alighted the bus and run off by then.

The bus driver then alerted the SBS headquarters and they called the police.

In the second incident involving a 24-year-old woman, the victim was heading to Shenton Way on bus service number 700 when she was molested twice by Vaz.

He also sat behind his victim after boarding the bus at Newton and subsequently put his hand through the gap between the seat and the side of the vehicle, and touched her on the left side of her body.

The second victim felt the first touch but did not suspect that anything was amiss, and continued sleeping after shifting her body. However, she felt another touch on the same spot and saw Vaz’s fingers when she looked down.

She stood up and turned around, only to see Vaz smiling at her as he said “sorry”.

She moved to another seat and Vaz alighted the bus at Dhoby Ghaut MRT station.

However, she lodged a police report later that night and Vaz’s identity was tracked through follow-up investigations by the police. He was arrested on Sept 5.

The court heard that he was fined in August following a conviction for two outrage of modesty acts he committed in January and February on public buses. He had rubbed the left shoulder of a woman in January and then touched the upper arm of another woman a month later.

District Judge Ng Peng Hong said during sentencing that he agreed with Vaz’s lawyer that no custodial sentence should be imposed in molestation cases of the same nature which did not involve private parts. However, there was a need for him to impose a punishment of specific deterrence in this instance so that Vaz would “learn his lesson” and not reoffend.

He could have been jailed for up to two years and/or caned for committing each of his two outrage of modesty offences.