Employment pass holder jailed 4 weeks, fined for molesting, harassing colleague who spoke no English

• Dhandhayutham Ezhilan took a liking to a Vietnamese cleaner who had just arrived in Singapore
• He sent her text messages saying he missed her and wanted to see her
• One evening, he waited outside a women’s toilet and molested her
• His employment pass has since been terminated

SINGAPORE — The Vietnamese woman who worked at his company spoke no English, but Dhandhayutham Ezhilan began taking a personal interest in her.

He would leave food in her locker and send her numerous text messages saying that he missed her and wanted to see her, often translated by computer from English to Vietnamese.

Eventually, he molested her outside a women’s toilet she had just cleaned.

On Thursday (April 1), Ezhilan, 48, was sentenced to four weeks’ jail and a fine of S$8,000 for his actions. 

The Indian national pleaded guilty to one charge each of molestation and possessing obscene videos in his mobile phone. He was given a discharge amounting to an acquittal for a second outrage of modesty charge.

His employment pass was terminated after the Vietnamese woman reported what had happened.

At the time of his offences last year, he was working as an assistant operations manager and was one of the 21-year-old victim’s superiors. Her immediate supervisor reported to him.

She and their workplace cannot be identified due to a court gag order to protect her identity.

The court heard that they met on the same day she arrived in Singapore from Vietnam — March 2 last year. She spoke only Vietnamese and began work as a cleaner.

Ezhilan soon began sending her work schedule directly to her over messaging platform WhatsApp, even though it was the normal practice for her immediate supervisor to do so.

The first time she received food in her locker, she asked her team whether any of them had given it to her and they suggested Ezhilan had done so.

She confirmed her suspicions over the next few days when he frequently asked her if she liked the food. But she did not eat it as she considered him a stranger, and gave the food to her colleagues instead.

Ezhilan would also send her text messages in English, often followed by computer-translated Vietnamese versions. These included “I miss you a lot”, “I want to see you” and “I wish you yo [sic] be my girl”.

She ignored them and only responded to work-related messages.

WAITED FOR HER OUTSIDE TOILET

On March 30 last year, she was working the overtime shift at a building in the one-north business park. 

Sometime between 7pm and 8pm, she was entering a women’s toilet on the ground level when she noticed Ezhilan standing outside the cubicle farthest away from the entrance. He told her he was checking on her work.

Feeling scared, she decided to clean the toilets on the upper levels first but saw him exit and head towards the car park. She then continued cleaning the ground floor toilet.

When she was done, she left and was shocked to see Ezhilan waiting for her outside the toilet.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Ian Ernst Chai told the court: “She flinched, swore in Vietnamese at the accused, tried to wave him away using hand gestures, and moved away from the accused. 

“However, the accused nonetheless moved quickly towards her and kissed the right side of her forehead with his lips. He then showed her a message in Vietnamese on his phone, asking her to take her time with her work.”

She ran back into the toilet, locked the cubicle door behind her and called her friend, another Vietnamese cleaner. She did not know how to call the Singapore police given that she had barely been here a month.

She stayed in the cubicle for half an hour crying. She then told her supervisors and agent what happened a few days later.

The company conducted an internal investigation and transferred her to another workplace. Ezhilan’s employment pass was also terminated.

She lodged a police report on Aug 21 last year and he was arrested later that evening. The authorities found 50 obscene films in his phone.

For molestation, he could have been jailed for up to two years or fined or caned, or received any combination of the three.

For possessing obscene films, he could have been jailed for up to six months or fined up to S$20,000, or punished with both.