Caning, 9 months' jail for masseur who molested female customer during massage

SINGAPORE — A masseur took advantage of his customer by touching her bare chest as well as her groin over her underwear at least twice while giving her a full body massage.

On Thursday (Feb 3), Low Teck Hua, a 38-year-old Malaysian, was sentenced to nine months’ jail and three strokes of the cane after pleading guilty to one charge of using criminal force to outrage the modesty of the victim. 

A second similar charge was taken into consideration during sentencing.

Court documents showed that the victim, a 32-year-old woman whose name is protected under a court order, had gone to Sante Wellness in Hougang in October 2019 with a colleague for a foot massage and full body massage.

After completing their foot massage, both the victim and her colleague proceeded to separate rooms for their full body massage.

The victim changed, wearing only her panties, and lay face down on the massage bed while covered with a blanket.

Low then entered the room and started massaging her, before asking her to turn and lie face-up midway through the massage.

Low then used both hands to massage the victim’s chest, making direct skin-to-skin contact over the area for a duration of one to two minutes.

Low was not supposed to touch or massage the chest in the course of the body massage and he did not seek the victim’s consent before doing so.

Uncomfortable and shocked, the victim did not know how to react, court documents stated. She made a police report the next day.

The prosecution sought a stiffer sentence of at least 10 months’ imprisonment and caning, saying that Low had abused his position of trust as a masseur and took advantage of the victim while they were alone in a room and the victim was in a state of undress.

The manner in which Low had touched the victim was also highly intrusive, continuous and sustained, the prosecution said.

The second charge in consideration, which involved Low touching the victim over her panties during the massage, was also an aggravating factor.

In mitigation, the defence lawyer said that there was no premeditation involved in Low’s acts. His guilty plea also spared the victim from reliving her traumatic experience in open court, the lawyer added.

Outrage of modesty carries a jail term of up to two years, or a fine, or caning, or any combination of these punishments.