SMU student made several advances before allegedly molesting Instagram acquaintance in classroom, court hears

• Lee Yan Ru, 24, is on trial for molesting a woman he met on Instagram
• She told the court that he made several unwelcome advances
• He allegedly groped her after they watched a Netflix movie

SINGAPORE — A 22-year-old woman on Monday (Sept 7) laid out her version of events leading up to when a Singapore Management University (SMU) student allegedly molested her during an overnight study session.

Taking the witness stand for the first time, she testified that Lee Yan Ru had made several unwelcome advances before that.

Lee, now aged 24, has claimed trial to a single charge of rubbing his private parts against her chest in a university classroom at about 6.30am on Jan 8 last year. 

The woman, who is not an SMU student, cannot be named due to a court order to protect her identity.

Lee first contacted her on social media channel Instagram about a week or two before the incident, she testified. They had about 20 mutual friends.

She declined his offer to buy her sunglasses and take her out for a meal because she had a boyfriend.

They continued chatting afterwards. “I didn’t want to be rude and brush him off, and we had mutual friends,” she explained.

The day before the incident, they met at a cafe near the SMU campus to do schoolwork. On that occasion, Lee “poked (her) rib” about 40 minutes after they met while sitting next to her, and she moved his hand away.

"I felt awkward and didn’t really know how to act… I didn’t want to be rude or leave a bad impression. If word got out, it’d look bad on him as well,” she added.

ALLEGEDLY GROPED HER

They met again in person later that evening. At his suggestion, she took a Grab car over to SMU’s School of Economics at about 12.30am.

Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Andre Chong then asked her why she agreed to meet him again.

“I had not slept for a day or so and I had this laboratory report due on the morning of the incident, so I thought by meeting someone, it would prevent me from falling asleep in my room where the bed is. Sort of a way to force myself to complete the assignment,” she replied.

As for why she did not ask her boyfriend to accompany her, she said that he had an early start the next day and was already asleep.

She did not tell him about meeting Lee because of this, she added.

When they met, Lee took her to a third-storey classroom and they began doing their work at a table. After a while, she said that he began putting his foot on her thigh “about three to five times”.

She pushed his foot away. “It was so weird and awkward that I was at a loss for words,” she told the court.

He eventually joined her when she lay on the floor and watched a movie on the entertainment streaming site Netflix.

After about 30 minutes, he said that the fluorescent lights were “really bright” and suggested moving under a table. She said that she agreed because her eyes hurt, too.

She then alleged that he squeezed her breasts under her bra after the movie was over.

DPP Chong asked if she had consented to this and she replied: “There was nothing to consent to because he did not ask.”

She added that after this, she tried to crawl out from under the table but he pulled her back, grabbing her by her hips. This went on for a few seconds before he let go and they crawled out, leaving her “quite shaken”.

She then asked Lee to take her somewhere to smoke a cigarette. “I had this ingenious idea to sort of break tensions by going for a walk,” she testified.

She did not leave because it was the middle of the night and there was “no mode of transport”, and she “did not want to leave a bad impression”.

“Considering how we were alone in school and it seemed empty, the last thing I wanted was for him to turn into an enemy,” she added.

WENT FOR SMOKE BREAKS

They went to the ground floor outside the building on two occasions to smoke. Closed circuit television footage of their movements was played in court.

Once, he put his arm around her waist and she moved away.

She told the court that she kept mum because she “didn’t want to embarrass him”, though “it felt wrong because I’m attached”.

After the first smoke break, they returned to the classroom at about 5am, where he allegedly tried to hold her down on a table and kiss her about three times.

She also said that she “felt something quite warm on my thigh” but “did not want to look down and see anything”. “I didn’t want to ask because it was really embarrassing,” she added.

On Monday morning, a police officer testified that she had told them Lee tried to kiss her until about 4am before he fell asleep on a chair.

She also told the police that she covered her head with a jacket and fell asleep on the floor, before waking up to find Lee masturbating on top of her.

A DNA report later showed that Lee’s semen was found on her face and neck, but not on her jacket.

The afternoon session of the trial did not cover the alleged charge of molestation.

It continues on Tuesday.