Ex-national footballer gets jail, fine for molesting friend of Tinder date

• Mohammad Imran Sahib kissed a 21-year-old, touched her thigh and sucked her fingers
• He denied molesting and using criminal force on her, but the court found him guilty
• He is appealing the conviction and sentence 

SINGAPORE — A former national footballer who used a pseudonym to meet women on a dating application and later molested a 21-year-old was on Friday (Nov 13) jailed 18 weeks and fined S$1,000.

Mohammad Imran Sahib Mohamed Ibrahim Sahib, 38, who is married, was convicted last month of molesting the young woman and using criminal force on her. 

On the night he committed the crime in March 2018, Imran partied at several nightclubs with a woman he met on dating application Tinder as well as her friend.

He was then married with three children and used Tinder under a pseudonym to meet other women. Marriage records show he is still married.

After going to their third and last nightclub on March 4, 2018, his date vomited at a car park. It was then that Imran kissed his date’s friend. 

Imran later drove the pair home. After his date alighted, Imran touched the other woman’s thigh in his car and sucked her fingers against her will. 

The victim cannot be named because of a court order to protect her identity. 

Fleeing from the car when Imran stopped to relieve himself, she walked barefoot for almost half an hour to her friend’s home.

Imran contested the charges and denied he had kissed or molested her, but the court found him guilty on Oct 22. 

ON ANTIDEPRESSANTS, SUSPENDED FROM GRAB

On Friday, the court heard that Imran, who was driving for ride-hailing firm Grab when he committed the offences, had been on antidepressants before the trial began last year. 

He had also been suspended from driving for Grab the day after he was convicted.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Chee Ee Ling said that the victim had cried four times while giving her testimony in court, and that her sister and a friend had witnessed the trauma triggered by the incident.

The prosecutor wrote in her sentencing submissions: “(Imran) has shown no remorse at all for his actions by claiming trial to the charges, forcing the victim to undergo the full rigours of trial and relive the ordeal on the stand.”

Lawyer Revi Shanker, who represented Imran, argued that both witnesses — the victim’s sister and friend — were not independent because they were “closely related” to the victim. The victim also did not consult a doctor over the trauma she experienced, he added. 

District Judge Kan Shuk Weng said during sentencing that she had placed “considerable weight” on Imran being a first-time offender. She also noted that Imran had contributed to Singapore’s sporting scene.

Imran was once a national footballer and made an appearance for the national team in a World Cup qualifier against Oman in 2004. He also played in the S.League, now known as the Singapore Premier League, most recently as a defender with the Tampines Rovers Football Club.

Even so, District Judge Kan said that Imran had molested the woman in a moving car, lowering her chances of escaping.  

Imran is appealing the conviction and sentence. He is out on bail of S$15,000.

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

For using criminal force, he could have been punished with a jail term of up to three months or a fine of up to S$1,500, or both.