Man charged with molesting woman, showing obscene videos to others on MRT train
File photo of an MRT train. (Photo: Jeremy Long)
SINGAPORE: A man on remission for previous offences allegedly molested a woman on an MRT train and showed four others obscene videos.
Osman Hussein, 46, was charged on Friday (Jun 28) for seven fresh offences ranging from outrage of modesty to insulting a woman's modesty and possessing obscene films.
According to charge sheets, Osman was out on remission from late December last year, but allegedly began committing crimes from February, while he was still under a remission order.
Criminals can be released from prison on remission after serving two-thirds of their jail term, but must not re-offend during the period of remission, or they will face enhanced penalties.
Osman is accused of stealing a pair of Awei brand earbuds worth S$14.90 from a shop in West Mall on Feb 25.
A few months later, on Apr 1, he allegedly showed an obscene video of a woman performing a sex act on a man to three different women on the train. Two of the incidents purportedly occurred at the Outram and Lavender stations, while the third occurred while the train was heading to the Raffles Place station.
Osman is accused of showing an obscene video to a fourth woman 10 days later on Apr 11 at the platform of Bukit Batok MRT station.
This escalated to an alleged act of molestation on Jun 25, on a train at a Bukit Batok MRT station, where Osman is accused of knocking his knee repeatedly against a woman's knee and caressing her knee with his hand.
Osman has been remanded at the Institute of Mental Health for psychiatric observation and will return to court on Jul 12.
If found guilty of outrage of modesty, he could be jailed for up to two years, fined, caned, or given any such combination of punishments.
If convicted of possessing obscene films, he could be jailed for up to six months, fined a maximum of S$20,000, or both.
He faces up to a year's jail and a fine for insulting the modesty of a woman, as well as a maximum jail term of seven years for theft.
If found guilty of committing the crimes while on remission, Osman faces enhanced penalties.
