Man with 'sexual interest in disabled females' gets jail, caning for molesting woman who walked with a limp

SINGAPORE — Attracted to a salesperson because she walked with a limp, Mohammad Syafiq Othman decided to observe her three to four times a week at her retail booth for about a month before approaching her to ask for her number.

But when she spurned his advances by only giving him her Instagram handle and later blocking him altogether, he decided to stalk her to her home in Buona Vista.

Armed with a penknife, Syafiq then followed her into a lift, choked her neck from behind and then molested her. He also tried to steal some of her belongings.

On Tuesday (Jan 31), the 25-year-old was sentenced to six years’ jail and 12 strokes of the cane after pleading guilty to one charge each of aggravated outrage of modesty and attempted robbery. 

Another charge of voluntarily causing hurt was taken into consideration during sentencing.

The name of the 26-year-old victim cannot be revealed due to a court order to protect her identity.

WHAT HAPPENED

The court heard that Syafiq first saw the victim while she was working at a retail booth sometime in August 2022.

Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Gladys Lim said that Syafiq found the woman to be attractive as he has a sexual interest in disabled females, and the victim walked with a limp.

He started visiting her workplace three to four times a week to observe her. On one occasion, he also stalked her from her workplace to Redhill MRT Station.

Sometime in end-August, he approached her to ask for her contact number. But she declined, and instead gave him her Instagram account username at his request.

The court heard that the victim did not accept his request to follow her account, and later blocked him because she was not interested in him.

Upset by her move, Syafiq approached her again on Sept 10, asking why she did not follow his Instagram account, before walking off.

On Sept 21, closed-circuit television footage showed that he had walked by the victim’s shop at about 9.15pm and continued observing her from afar without her noticing.

After she ended work, he followed her from her workplace to a public housing block where she lived.

He then tailed her into the lift and when the doors closed, took out his penknife and restrained her by choking her neck from behind.

When the lift reached her intended destination on the seventh floor, Syafiq managed to close the lift door while restraining the victim.

"The accused did this because he wanted to make the victim feel afraid and because he wanted to ask her for money," court documents stated.

Pointing the penknife at her neck, Syafiq then told the victim that he "has been crazy for (her) for a long time" and repeatedly told her to shut up as she tried to scream for help.

He instructed the victim to hand him her pouch and its content, valued at about S$400 in total.

While she was removing the pouch from her body, Syafiq rammed her body against the back of the lift, causing the pouch to drop. He then molested her by touching many parts of her body.

He also then kicked the woman in her leg when she fell to the floor. This act of voluntarily causing hurt was taken into the judge's consideration during sentencing.

The court further heard that the victim tried to escape when the lift door opened on the first floor.

This led Syafiq to grab her again by the neck. He pulled her into the lift before running off, leaving behind the pouch.

The whole incident lasted about two minutes, the court heard.

WANTED TO INSTIL FEAR

Seeking a total sentence of six to seven years’ jail term with 12 strokes of the cane, DPP Lim highlighted how the accused had “sexually exploited all of the victim’s private parts".

She argued that the circumstances of the crime was “violent”, involving him restraining her, choking her and pointing a penknife at her to instil fear in her.

She also rejected Syafiq’s attempt to “paint himself as someone who wants to befriend the victim” in his mitigation plea, calling such a depiction as highly inaccurate in view of his actions.

The court also heard that he was previously convicted in 2020 for a few offences, including one count of stalking a different victim for which he was sentenced to four moths' jail.

In delivering the sentence, District Judge Kessler Soh said that he found the sentence requested by the prosecutor to be fair and reasonable.

Turning to Syafiq, who appeared via video link from where he was remanded and was not represented by a lawyer, District Judge Soh said: “You said you wanted the victim to be your friend. But what you did was very wrong and very bad.

“I hope you learn from this and never ever do this to anyone else”.

For committing aggravated outrage of modesty, Syafiq could have been jailed between three and 10 years and caned.

For attempted robbery, he could have been jailed between two and seven years and caned.

CORRECTION: An earlier version of the article's bullet point summary stated that the accused was sentenced to 12 years' jail and six strokes of the cane. This is incorrect. It should be six years' jail and 12 strokes of the cane. We are sorry for the error.