Jail for elderly man who molested cerebral palsy patient while visiting wife at nursing home
File photo of Singapore's State Courts. (Photo: CNA/Jeremy Long)
SINGAPORE: An elderly man was sentenced to jail on Monday (Sep 16) for molesting a patient with cerebral palsy at a nursing home while visiting his wife at the facility earlier this year.
Retiree Lau Loi Fatt, 78, was sentenced to eight months' jail for one count of outraging the 37-year-old victim's modesty.
The court heard that the man was visiting his wife - who had suffered two strokes - at a nursing home on the morning of Jan 22 when he saw the victim in the common area of the home.
The victim who was in a wheelchair was seated alone facing the television, although there were about 30 other residents performing therapy exercises in the common area at the time.
He noted that the victim "looked unwell" and both her hands were bandaged, said Deputy Public Prosecutor Gabriel Lim.
When he saw a cockroach flying around the victim's chest, he went over to her to help flick it away.
However, as he did this, he noticed that the woman's clothing was loose and that her breasts were partially exposed, the court heard.
He also noticed that she was not wearing a bra.
The elderly man then inserted his hand into her clothing and fondled her.
A therapy assistant noticed the man standing very close to the victim and alerted a nursing aide, who asked the accused what he was doing.
The elderly man did not reply, instead walking away and leaving the nursing home.
The nursing aide reported the matter to a senior staff nurse and it was brought to the attention of the management.
A police report was lodged and closed-circuit television footage showed the elderly man standing in close proximity to the victim.
For using criminal force on the woman to outrage her modesty, the man could have been jailed for up to two years, fined, caned, or given any combination of these punishments.
