Man jailed over two months for cutting women’s hair on buses, says he’s aroused by long hair
A 26-year-old man who cut off women’s hair on public buses so he could keep and sniff it later has been jailed for two months and two weeks.
Edwin Chow Rui Xiong was sentenced on 11 Sept after pleading guilty to two charges — using criminal force with intent to outrage modesty, and possessing instruments for cutting.
According to the Straits Times (ST), two other similar offences were also taken into consideration, which involved Chow targeting two other victims on different buses on 2 Aug.
Man cut woman’s ponytail & kept it in bag to smell later
On 3 Aug, Chow boarded bus service 185 at Dover and took a seat on the upper deck.
Source: Land Transport Guru
When a woman with a ponytail got on board, Chow became sexually aroused by her long hair.
He shifted seats to sit directly behind her, then pulled out scissors from his bag and snipped off her ponytail.
He placed the hair in a small plastic bag, intending to sniff it later.
Moments later, the victim touched her ponytail and realised something was wrong. She turned around and confronted Chow, but he kept silent.
She then alerted the bus driver, who called the police.
Police find scissors & bags of hair inside bag
When officers arrived, they searched Chow’s bag. They found five pairs of scissors and several plastic bags containing hair.
Chow admitted he was aroused by women with long hair and that cutting and sniffing it gave him sexual gratification.
Source: Aflo Images on Canva. Pic for illustrative purposes only.
He was arrested the same day.
Man appears in court via video link, says ‘nothing’ during mitigation
Appearing in court via video link, Chow was asked by District Judge Salina Ishak if he wished to plead for leniency.
Smiling, he replied: “Nothing.”
District Judge Salina Ishak pressed him further, asking, “You sure? You do not wish to say anything in mitigation?”
Chow then replied, “I wish to have a lighter sentence, as I have a doctor’s appointment at the Institute of Mental Health next week.”
The judge told him to inform prison officers about the appointment, ST reported.
He said he had nothing else to add.
For using criminal force with intent to outrage modesty, offenders can face up to three years’ jail, a fine, caning, or any combination of these punishments.
Also read: Man allegedly molests sleeping woman at Kranji MRT station, subdued by staff when he tried to flee
Man allegedly molests sleeping woman at Kranji MRT station, subdued by staff when he tried to flee
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Featured image adapted from Aflo Images on Canva and MS News. Pic on the left for illustrative purposes only.
