Jail for 57-year-old masseur who brazenly molested female client

SINGAPORE — Emboldened when his female client did not react after he touched her inappropriately, a masseur continued his brazen act and even pretended that nothing had happened by offering her a cup of warm water after the two-hour session.

However, his 37-year-old victim, who cannot be named to protect her identity, subsequently discussed the matter with her friends and decided to report the incident to the police.

On Tuesday (April 16), Loh Kok Sun, 57, was jailed for nine months for outraging the modesty of his client and fined S$3,000 for possessing obscene films. He was sentenced to an additional six weeks’ jail as he is above 50 years old and cannot be caned.

The court heard that on Jan 8, the victim walked into the massage centre with the intention of getting a two-hour full body acupressure massage. The name of the centre has been redacted from court documents.

Having patronised the centre monthly for the past six months, she was familiar with its routine, which required her to remove all her clothes except for her panties.

While she was lying face down on the massage bed with her body covered by a towel, she noticed Loh entering the room.

While she did not object to a male masseur, Deputy Public Prosecutor Chew Xin Ying said that the victim specifically requested a head, shoulder and waist acupressure massage as she did not want an oil massage which would “involve more touching by the masseur”.

Loh acknowledged the request but about midway through the session, he told the victim to turn over and covered her chest and groin with a towel. At this point, he began massaging her leg and moved upwards until he touched her groin.

The victim was shocked but did not know how to react, said Ms Chew.

Loh then began massaging her stomach over the towel and when she did not react, he slipped his hands beneath the towel to touch her chest and massaged her for about five minutes.

Ms Chew noted that Loh’s actions were “clearly persistent and deliberate”.

She added that the victim thought what Loh was doing was part of the massage routine and “did not dare voice out her discomfort or protest”.

However, she was so scared that she clutched the sides of the bed tightly and did not dare to open her eyes, said Ms Chew.  

When the session ended, the victim paid for the massage. Loh asked if she was all right and even offered her a cup of warm water and asked her to sign in the register book.

The victim decided to report the incident to the police on Jan 9, after consulting her friends and coming across a report where a male masseur was convicted in court for molesting a female client.

Ms Chew said that during the course of their investigations, the police also found six obscene videos in Loh’s mobile phone.

For outraging the modesty of the victim, Loh could have been jailed for up two years, fined and/or caned. For possessing obscene films, he could have been fined S$500 for each film up to a maximum of S$20,000, and/or jailed for up to six months.