Taking a walk in a park is often meant to be a relaxing and therapeutic experience.
Unfortunately, this was not the case for a group of female students who were molested by a man who approached them in Fort Canning Park.
Source: Google Maps
On Thursday (8 Dec), 59-year-old Tan Soh Kwan pleaded guilty to two counts of molestation and was sentenced to one year’s jail.
Three other charges were also considered during the sentencing.
According to Channel NewsAsia (CNA), the first incident happened on 12 Sep 2021. While a 20-year-old French student was taking a walk in the park, Tan approached and introduced himself to her.
They started having a conversation about the attractions in the park. As he showed her around the park, Tan claimed he had travelled to Thailand and given Buddhist teachings.
After sitting on a bench, he told the student that he had “a Buddha inside him”. Then, they sat cross-legged on the bench, facing each other. Tan proceeded to hold her hands and started chanting.
He told the student that she “had a lot of thoughts and a sad heart.” Although she replied that she was happy, he maintained that she had been experiencing a “love problem”.
As she was indeed facing such an issue, the student started to trust him and followed him to another bench.
They resumed their conversation in the same seating position, facing each other. Without warning, he embraced her, touching her neck and eyebrow.
After placing his hands on her chest, he started chanting for two minutes. Then, he told her that he would give her a massage. So he started rubbing her shoulder and back.
Tan then asked her to turn around and hugged her with his lower body touching her buttocks.
At this point, the student started feeling uncomfortable and backed away from him. Even after telling him she was afraid, he reiterated that he had “the Buddha” in him and hugged her once more.
However, the hug was so tight that she could feel his chest against hers. Tan continued by saying that he wanted to help crack her back, but she needed to sit on his lap.
The student refused, but he asked her to lie down on the bench, which she did.
Tan continued his sexual assault, kissing and touching her face and neck before molesting her.
Subsequently, she filed a police report on that same day.
The second incident occurred the next day, in the exact location, reports TODAY.
Again, Tan approached two 18-year-old Singaporean students and offered to take them on a tour of the park.
They agreed, and he told them he could help address their medical ailments as he learnt massage techniques in Thailand.
After assisting the two girls with some back stretches, he asked one of them to sit on his lap. She complied, sitting with her back facing him.
Then, he massaged her back and used the opportunity to molest her. Telling her she had “women’s problems”, Tan touched her abdomen without consent.
As he led the girls to a nearby hut with a bench, he asked the same girl to sit on his lap again before touching her chest with his hands. He also wrapped his arms around her.
The next day, the girls lodged a police report, and Tan was arrested.
In court, prosecutors asked for 12 to 16 months’ jail, as Tan tricked the victims in two stages.
He tried to show them around the park to win their trust. Then, he deceived them by pretending to understand their situations and molested them under the pretext of a massage.
They also noted that Tan committed these crimes in broad daylight in a public park.
Those found guilty of outrage of modesty face up to three years’ jail, a fine, caning, or any of these combinations.
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Featured image by MS News.
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