Former Singapore Idol judge Ken Lim set for trial over sex-related offences
Ken Lim Chih Chiang is accused of insulting or outraging the modesty of five women, but claims he is innocent and will defend his case in court.
Ken Lim Chih Chiang outside the State Courts on Mar 30, 2023. (Photo: CNA/Marcus Mark Ramos)
SINGAPORE: Former Singapore Idol judge Ken Lim Chih Chiang is set to go to trial over offences of insulting or outraging the modesty of women, levelled against him by five alleged victims.
According to court records, the 59-year-old man has trial dates fixed for April and May next year. Before that, he is set to go to court on Nov 17 this year, where the prosecution will ask for a joint trial of all charges, Lim's lawyers told CNA.
They said they would be resisting such an application.
Lim faces seven charges in total. He is accused of molesting a 25-year-old woman in his office at Hype Records at Henderson Road on Nov 23, 2021.
This is the most recent alleged offence, and the first one he was charged with in March this year.
The other six offences are for insulting the modesty of another four women at his office or his home between 1998 and 2013.
Among the things he is accused of saying, Lim allegedly told one female artiste that she was sexually inexperienced and he could assist her with this.
He is accused of asking two other women if they were virgins and saying things like "what if I have sex with you right now".
Lim is defended by lawyers from WongPartnership, comprising Senior Counsel Tan Chee Meng, Mr Paul Loy and Mr Calvin Ong.
The trial dates were fixed after a pre-trial conference on Friday afternoon (Sep 22).
This in turn came after Lim's lawyers released a statement on Wednesday, after Lim received the latest charge. The lawyers said their client had made clear since he was first charged in March that he intended to "vigorously contest the allegations".
In the statement, Lim's lawyers said their client was "disappointed that the prosecution has not been prepared to take dates for trial despite numerous requests by us to do so".
If found guilty of molestation, he faces a jail term of up to two years, a fine or both. The punishment also includes caning, but offenders above 50 are not caned.
For each count of insulting a woman's modesty, he faces up to a year's jail, a fine or both if convicted.
