Man, 86, jailed for molesting 11-year-old girl and woman on public buses

SINGAPORE — An elderly man was sentenced to 10 months’ jail on Wednesday (July 28) for molesting a woman on a public bus, then targeting a schoolgirl while he was out on bail for molesting another woman.

Poh Seng Khian, a Singaporean now aged 86, pleaded guilty to two counts of outrage of modesty. Another charge was taken into consideration for sentencing.

He turned up in court in a wheelchair, with an interpreter reading out some documents to him in Hokkien.

His victims cannot be named due to a court order to protect their identities.

It was not Poh's first brush with the law. Last year, he was jailed 18 weeks after molesting a woman at People’s Park Centre in Chinatown and offering her husband S$10 to let him go.

The court heard that for Poh’s latest offences, he first struck in the afternoon of Oct 23 last year.

A 27-year-old woman boarded SBS Transit bus service 30 along Teban Gardens near West Coast Road and she stood in the area for wheelchair-bound passengers facing the rear door of the bus. Poh sat to her left.

While along Corporation Drive, Poh touched the woman’s biceps several times. Thinking he had accidentally touched her, she shifted back slightly but he continued to touch her there.

After about 15 seconds, he got up from his seat with the help of his walking aid and stood near the victim.

As he began alighting at the bus stop in front of Taman Jurong Community Club, he stretched his arm towards the victim pretending to fall, and stroked her inner thigh once over her jeans.

When she saw what he was doing and grabbed his forearm, he apologised and alighted.

The victim also alighted and told her husband about the incident. She later made a report at Jurong Neighbourhood Police Post.

Poh’s actions were captured on video by a closed-circuit television camera.

Court documents showed that on Jan 17 this year, he also molested a 47-year-old woman at Taman Jurong Market by touching her crotch over her shorts.

After he was released on station bail for this offence, he struck again, inappropriately touching an 11-year-old girl on SBS bus service 98.

The incident took place on March 11, when the girl and her schoolmate were in the row of seats closest to the bus driver.

Poh boarded shortly after them and sat next to the girl. He placed the handle of his walking aid on her lap before placing his hand on her groin area, over her school skirt, for a few seconds.

The girl pushed his hand away and her schoolmate then alighted at the next stop. At this point, another passenger told the girl to be careful of Poh as he was a known molester.

She quickly got up and stood at the rear door while Poh faked a laugh.

The girl later made a police report.

Poh was evaluated at the Institute of Mental Health three times after this latest incident. He was found to possibly have a minor neurocognitive disorder due to Alzhemier’s disease and vascular disease, but these had no contributory link to his offences.

For molestation, he could have been jailed for up to two years or fined, or both. He could also have been jailed for up to five years for molesting a minor under 14.

Offenders can be caned as well, but those aged 50 or above cannot be caned under the law.