SINGAPORE — After spotting a girl and her younger brother at a playground, Loh Jin followed them home and molested the girl. 

Her parents were not at home at the time and Loh refused to leave the premises despite the girl telling him that her parents had instructed her not to let strangers in their home. 

The victim and her brother who were aged 11 and eight respectively at the time, cannot be named due to a gag order imposed by the court to protect their identities. 

Loh, who was 55 and working as a housing officer at the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) at the time of the offence, was sentenced to one year and five months’ jail on Tuesday (Jan 10) after pleading guilty to one count of outrage of modesty.

One other charge was taken into consideration for sentencing. 

He was also given a discharge amounting to an acquittal in May last year for a charge of selling obscene material. 

WHAT HAPPENED 

On Oct 19 in 2020 at about 3pm, the girl and her younger brother boarded a bus from Junction 8, a mall in Bishan, and alighted at a bus stop at Toa Payoh an hour later. 

The pair then played with three other children aged between five and six at a playground near the bus stop. 

A short while later, Loh alighted at the same bus stop after taking a bus from Bishan at 4.30pm. Noticing the pair, Loh walked nearer to take a picture of them. 

Loh then followed the girl and her brother as they started walking home at about 5.30pm, tailing them all the way to their unit.  

At the entrance of their home, the girl’s brother entered first. Loh then followed the girl in. 

Surprised, the girl told him that her parents had instructed her not to allow strangers into their home. 

Instead of leaving, Loh showed her the picture he had taken earlier before reaching his hand towards the victim and groping her chest. 

Recoiling out of shock, the girl took a step back and began crying. Upon her crying, Loh quickly left the unit and returned to his home in a cab. 

She later called the police to report the incident. 

In response to TODAY's queries, a MOM spokesman said that the police had informed the ministry of their investigations into Loh.

"Pending the outcome of investigations, we had suspended him from duty in October 2020 and subsequently did not renew his contract when it expired in August 2021."

On Tuesday, Deputy Public Prosecutor Ong Xin Jie sought a sentence of one year and three months, as well as an additional three months in lieu of caning. 

In Singapore, those above the age of 50 cannot be caned. 

However, Loh’s defence counsel, Mr Josiah Zee of Invictus Law Corporation, sought a lower sentence of one year jail and not more than two months additional jail time in lieu of caning. 

Addressing Loh in court, District Judge Kamala Ponnampalam said that he had “brazenly” followed the victim into her own home and molested her. 

She agreed with the prosecution’s sentence and ordered him to serve one year and five months’ jail, including an additional two months in lieu of caning. 

For using criminal force on a person below the age of 14 to outrage her modesty, Loh could have been jailed up to five years, fined, caned or given a combination of any of these punishments.