Man, 27, gets 3 weeks' jail for obscene act in public while watching ballet practice

SINGAPORE — Stressed out that he did not have a girlfriend, Cavell Chua Ke Qin took to masturbating in public once or twice a week while watching young girls practise ballet at a studio near central Singapore.

He did this for nearly a year before he was caught. 

On Thursday (May 4), the 27-year-old pleaded guilty to a charge of committing an obscene act in a public place and was sentenced to three weeks’ jail.

Two other similar charges were taken into consideration for the Singaporean’s sentencing.

WHAT HAPPENED

Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Quek Lu Yi told the court that the offence to which Chua pleaded guilty took place at around 8.30pm on July 22 in 2021.

Due to a court order, the name or the address of the school — which caters to students aged two and above — cannot be revealed as it may lead to the identification of a victim related to Chua’s offence.

DPP Quek said that the studio had glass walls, which meant that passersby could look into the studio.

That evening, a student of the ballet school, who was 17 at the time, was waiting for her father at the alley in the vicinity of the studio.

While waiting, she noticed Chua masturbating and touching his private part over his pants multiple times. He did not stop, despite making brief eye contact with the victim, DPP Quek said.

Feeling uncomfortable, the teenager walked away and eventually left the area when her father arrived.

A police report was eventually made on Aug 31, after an employee at the studio complained to the manager on Aug 26 about the obscene acts of an "unknown Chinese male", later established to be Chua.

The manager then warned her staff members and students about Chua by showing them his photo, which was taken from surveillance footage.

Chua was eventually tracked down and interviewed by the police on Sept 8 that year, and he admitted that a few months before, he had been going to the vicinity of the studio.

Investigations showed that he would head opposite the studio, once or twice a week, to masturbate for about five to 10 minutes, as he felt aroused by looking at the students.

DPP Quek added that Chua committed these acts because he was stressed about not having a girlfriend.

Seeking a jail term of between three and five weeks, the prosecution noted that even though Chua had not exposed himself while masturbating, he had done so near a ballet school where the majority of the students were teenagers.

In appealing for a lighter sentence for his client, Mr William Ong from Alpha Law highlighted that a medical report demonstrated that Chua had "borderline intellectual functioning".

He added that Chua, who works as a Foodpanda delivery rider, admitted to his offence right from the beginning.

Chua’s parents, too, are "keeping a close watch" on their son, as well as "arranging activities to keep him occupied", Mr Ong said.

This includes exploring various therapy sessions "to control Chua’s urges".

In delivering his sentence, District Judge Marvin Bay said he had taken into consideration that Chua was persistent in his offences, having committed them for "almost a year" in a vicinity where there were young children and teenagers.

However, he also noted that Chua was remorseful, certified to have a mild intellectual disability and was "frustrated by his inability to find a girlfriend".

The judge also noted that Chua’s parents sought psychiatric help for their son at the earliest opportunity.

For his offence, Chua could have been jailed up to three months or fined, or both.