Jail for man who molested an intellectually disabled woman

SINGAPORE — A 51-year-old man jailed for causing hurt will have his sentence extended by 22 months, and fined S$1,000, after admitting to more offences.

On Tuesday (Aug 14), Juma Khan Rasik Khan admitted to one count of molesting an intellectually disabled woman, another count of fighting in a public place, as well as one count of behaving in a disorderly manner in a public place.

Juma is serving an 11-month sentence for a previous offence of causing hurt. An appeal against the sentence was dismissed last month.

The court heard that on Nov 5 last year, Juma approached the woman, whom he knew, at the void deck of a Housing and Development Board block. She agreed to follow him, and was led to his flat.

The woman cannot be named to protect her identity.

He brought her to his room, removed his clothes, and got her to remove hers. Then he molested her.

After the woman left the house to return to the void deck, she told her father's friends — who also knew Juma — about what had happened.

When Juma returned to the same void deck, he was confronted by a group of people, including the woman's parents. Juma then called the police to report the molestation.

Claiming that the woman was his friend, he said that he did not have sex with her, but had performed other sex acts on her.

According to court documents, Juma also told the police that the woman claimed he had sex with her. He was subsequently arrested.

The court also heard that in December 2016, Juma kicked and broke a neighbour's flowerpot in a fit of anger. The neighbour, Mr Rasani Hamid, had called the police as Juma was blasting music from his electric bicycle.

Juma told the police officers that Mr Rasani's flowerpot was encroaching into his cousin's flat, where Juma was staying. When Mr Rasani did not budge, Juma kicked the flowerpot and berated him in the presence of the officers.

In March this year, he ran afoul of the law again. He got into a fight after a heated argument with a friend, Mr Mohammad Ariffin Abdullah, 46. He wrapped a belt around his fist and punched Mr Arrifin, leaving him with cuts and bruises.

Juma's 22-month sentence will commence once he completes his earlier 11-month sentence, the court heard.

For outraging the woman's modesty, he could have been jailed for up to two years, fined, caned, or given any combination of these punishments.