Jail for man who molested teen, mental patient

SINGAPORE — A 51-year-old rag-and-bone man who suffers from schizophrenia was jailed three years and 10 months for molesting two women, one a teenager and the other a mental patient.

Ang Ah Lak, who was sentenced on Wednesday (June 13), “exploited (his) victim’s vulnerabilities by promising false hospitality” at his one-room rental flat on Marsiling Road, District Judge Marvin Bay told the court.

To lure his victims, he tricked them by pretending that he could help them with their problems. He told one of them that he could help her find a job, and for the other, he tried to offer her a place to stay when she was feeling low.

Ang approached his first victim last November at the entrance of the Institute of Mental Health (IMH). She was a 35-year-old schizophrenic patient and he had taken a liking to her, having seen her around on past occasions.

Finding out that she also lived in the northern part of Singapore, he took a bus with her and he found out that she was unemployed.

Ang then told her that he could offer her a job, and got her to meet him for lunch at IMH the next day to discuss it. When she called him to confirm their lunch plans the next day, he told her to meet near Causeway Point mall instead.

When they met at about noon, Ang suggested they head to what he told her was his second-hand goods store, before changing his mind again to say they should go to his home first.

The woman did not want to, but Ang insisted and she relented.

When they reached his home, the victim sat at the side of his bed in his living room as she was feeling tired from the walking. About 20 minutes later, she started to feel uncomfortable and asked repeatedly to be allowed to leave, especially when Ang took off his clothes.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Marshall Lim told the court that Ang then threatened her and told her that he would strip her, tie her up and keep her at his home for three days and three nights.

He went on to grope and molest her while she protested. He finally let her go after some time, and she made a police report about the incident.

Ang found his second victim, an 18-year-old, at a playground in Marsiling at 1am in February this year. She had left her boyfriend’s house in anger after getting into an argument with him.

Ang, seeing that the girl had her belongings with her, offered her a place to stay for S$26, telling her that he had hosted many girls before. The teenager agreed.

When they reached his flat, Ang invited her to sit on his bed, but she declined. He then stripped in front of her and went to bathe.

The victim decided to leave, but the gate was locked. She called out for help, but no one came. She was also unable to make any calls from her mobile phone as she had misplaced her SIM card.

When Ang came out of the bathroom naked, he pushed her onto the bed and began groping her, forcibly holding her down and molesting her for about five minutes.

In a bid to escape, the victim cooked up an excuse that she would like to have sex with him at her house. Ang agreed, got dressed and left with her.

When they reached her housing block, they ran into her boyfriend and she immediately told him that she had been molested. Ang fled and the couple went to the police station to lodge a report.

In seeking a sentence of no more than four years, Ang’s lawyer Shaneet Rai said that his client “struggles with living from day to day” and scavenges for food to eat.

His family had ignored him ever since he was diagnosed with schizophrenia in 1985, and had lost contact with his relatives for more than 30 years.

Ang could have been jailed up to two years for each of his seven charges of outrage of modesty.