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Elderly condo gardener jailed 21 months for molesting 7-year-old boy at BBQ pit

SINGAPORE — After befriending a young boy living at the condominium compound where he worked as a gardener, Tok Chon Chey managed to get him alone and kissed him on the lips.

Tok Chon Chey, 74, was sentenced to one year and nine months’ jail for molestation and procuring an indecent act from a child.

Tok Chon Chey, 74, was sentenced to one year and nine months’ jail for molestation and procuring an indecent act from a child.

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SINGAPORE — After befriending a young boy living at the condominium compound where he worked as a gardener, Tok Chon Chey managed to get him alone and kissed him on the lips.

Minutes later, Tok made the seven-year-old perform an obscene act on him. When a resident caught him in the act, Tok begged her not to report the matter.

On Tuesday (May 4), Tok, who is 74, was jailed one year and nine months for his actions.

The Singaporean pleaded guilty to one charge each of molestation and procuring an indecent act from a child, with another similar charge taken into consideration for sentencing.

It was not his first brush with the law. In 2013, he was similarly convicted of molesting an 11-year-old boy at a public housing block and jailed six months.

His latest victim, now aged nine, and the condominium — located in the eastern region of Singapore — cannot be named due to a court order to protect the boy’s identity. 

Tok worked there for seven years before committing the offences. The boy had known him for at least two years as he would see Tok tending to plants at the ground floor almost every day whenever he returned from kindergarten.

On March 23 in 2019, the boy and his sister rode their bicycles within the condominium compound at about 10am. They then chanced upon Tok sitting at one of the barbecue pits.

The boy had last met him two days before, when he offered the boy S$2 to buy ice cream and asked to meet him at the barbecue pit that day. 

The boy did not take the money and did not intend to meet Tok, Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Nicholas Lai told the court.

The boy’s sister, not suspecting that anything was amiss, left for home after Tok asked her brother to go over to him.

Tok then lifted the boy and placed him in his lap. They talked for a while before Tok suddenly kissed him on the lips.

A condominium resident who walked past and saw them decided to turn back as she felt uneasy.

At this point, Tok asked the boy to stand up and molested him, then unzipped his own pants and made the boy perform a sex act on him. 

The condo resident who had turned back confronted Tok, asking him if he thought what he was doing was right.

The boy hid behind her and Tok began pleading with her not to report the matter, but she still took the boy to the guardhouse to do so.

Tok followed them, continuing to plead with her to keep silent, but walked off halfway.

The boy’s parents were contacted and his father called the police. Officers arrested Tok later that day.

For molestation of a minor under 14, Tok could have been jailed for up to five years or fined, or both. He cannot be caned under the law as he is above 50 years old.

He could have been jailed for up to five years or fined up to S$10,000, or both, for procuring an indecent act from a child.

Related topics

court crime molest obscene act condominium

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