Man who molested employee on her first day of work gets 8 months' jail

SINGAPORE: A Singapore permanent resident who employed a 28-year-old woman, the daughter of someone he knew, and molested her on her first day at work was sentenced on Monday (Jun 18) to eight months in jail.

Md Gias Uddin Sarker was convicted on five counts of outrage of modesty at the end of a seven-day trial. 

The court heard the victim took up the job at Gias’ company, which deals with the import and export of medical devices as well as construction, despite reservations about him.

Before she took up the job, the victim, who had met Gias before, said he felt he looked at her in a “perverted way”, according to court documents. However, her mother said Gias was a “good and trustworthy man”.

On her first day working in the administrative department at Gias’ company on Nov 20, 2015, the victim ran errands with him, including meeting up with an auditor and getting security bonds for workers.

They then proceeded to Gias’ office in Woodlands Link in the evening. The victim said the surroundings of the office were deserted and secluded, with no one in sight, the court heard. It also appeared to be hard to access, with no bus-stop in sight.

GIAS TOOK VICTIM TO HIS ROOM TO SHOW HER HOW TO DO HER WORK

When they were in the office, Gias showed the victim a room full of ropes and metals for construction work. They then went to his office, where they first discussed her work arrangements and salary. Then, Gias told her he wanted to show her how to make entries to worker payroll timesheets on his computer desktop, and asked her to sit on his right.

First he put his hand over hers on the computer mouse. He also spoke about his personal life, the court heard. He said he loved his wife and children, and was not looking for “hot sex” like other men, and said he would give the victim extra money, cosmetics and clothes on top of her salary.

Then, Gias touched the victim’s shoulder. She told him she was not comfortable and moved backwards. He then returned to talking about the payroll timesheets, but placed his hand on her back and then molested her.

At this point, the victim said she was frozen, stunned, scared and in a state of disbelief, the court heard. While wanting to escape, the victim was afraid of what the man might do, especially after she had seen the ropes and metals.

She told him she wanted to go home, but he said she had to wait as there were workers who would be arriving to see him. When three Bangladeshi men arrived, she thought of seeking help from them, but dismissed the idea for fear that the matter might escalate.

The victim then said she needed to use the toilet, and went to try and get help. She saw that it was dark outside and that there was a group of men across the street, and no vehicles in sight.

When she returned to the office, she told Gias that she could not get into the toilet, and that she wanted to go home. He then followed her to the toilet and waited for her outside.

GIAS TOLD VICTIM NOT TO TELL ANYONE WHAT HAPPENED

The victim’s ordeal continued after that. When she returned to the room and the chair, Gias touched her thigh, then hugged her around the shoulder. The victim returned the hug slightly, as she did not want to anger him and escalate things, the court heard.

When he hugged her a second time and she did not return it, he commanded her to do so in a stern voice. He also pinched her cheeks and hugged her again before leaving the office. He told her not to tell anyone what happened, and gave her S$200 in salary for the day.

Each time he did something and she told him she was not comfortable, he justified his actions saying they were “family”.

Eventually, the victim left the building with Gias at about 9.30pm, and the two of them shared a taxi. This time, when Gias touched her thigh, the victim told him off. She felt safe in the taxi driver’s presence, the court heard.

The victim told her husband, a CISCO auxiliary police officer, what happened. He confronted Gias that night itself. Gias denied touching the victim. The next day, the victim and her husband lodged a police report.

VICTIM’S RELATIONSHIP WITH MOTHER AFFECTED

The prosecution said in its closing submissions that there was overwhelming evidence in the case - the victim’s internally and externally consistent testimony, corroborative testimonies from witnesses, and the “accused’s incredulous and vacillating version of events”.

The prosecution also said the victim is a “victim of truth and gave compelling, logical and unwavering account of the incidents”.

Following the incident, the victim was afraid to go to her mother’s house, as Gias lived near her mother, and had problems being intimate with her husband and had trust issues.

She told the court that she would cry and have an emotional breakdown every time she thought about what happened, and felt that her relationship with her mother was affected, as she partly blamed her for what happened.

Gias is appealing the conviction and the sentence, and is out on bail. For his offences, he could have been jailed for up to two years, fined, caned, or received a combination of these punishments.