5 months' jail for worker who molested 15-year-old boy in HDB lift, later claiming it was a 'form of joke'

SINGAPORE — Claiming it was a “form of joke”, a foreign worker molested a 15-year-old boy he encountered in a lift. 

Rahman Hafizur, a 39-year-old Bangladeshi national who was a construction worker at the time, was sentenced to five months’ jail on Wednesday (April 3) after pleading guilty to one count of molestation.

On 16 Oct, 2023, the 15-year-old went to his friend’s home after school. After arriving, he realised that the lift at the Housing and Development Board block required an access card to gain entry. 

He did not know his friend’s unit number, only that his friend lived on the 10th floor, and thus waited for someone else to enter the lift so he could access his friend’s floor. 

While the teen was waiting at the lobby, he saw Rahman, who was pushing a trolley containing an electrical box. 

Rahman scanned his access card and gained access to the lift. He asked the teen to hand his access card to another construction worker standing at the lift lobby. 

The teen then followed Rahman into the lift, where the two were alone and both pressed the lift button for the 10th floor. 

While the lift ascended, Rahman asked the teen if he was Muslim. The teen replied that he was not. 

In closed-circuit camera footage from the lift played in court, Rahman can be seen using his hand to touch the chin of the teen, who was dressed in a school uniform.

Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Emily Koh told the court that the teen was caught off guard by this, after which Rahman extended his hand and touched the teen’s private parts. 

Rahman then asked the teen if he had “cut (his) skin”, which the teen understood to be asking if he was circumcised. The teen tapped Rahman's hand away and was shocked and speechless at the man’s question.

When the lift reached the 10th floor, the teen left and joined his friend who was waiting outside his unit. Rahman stood outside the lift and prepared equipment to commence work.

The teen told his friend that Rahman had touched him while inside the lift, and went to his friend’s home to wash his chin as he “felt dirty”, said DPP Koh. 

After that, he decided to confront Rahman about what had happened in the lift, and went to 10th floor lift lobby where the offender was working. 

In response to the teen’s question on why he had touched him, Rahman claimed he was only joking and apologised. 

The teen left with his friend and later called his elder sister, who advised him to call the police. He then called his uncle, who worked nearby and arrived at the block about 15 minutes later. 

The boy and his uncle went to search for Rahman but did not see him at the same floor, only that his equipment and bag were still there. 

The teen’s uncle then called the police and reported that his nephew had been molested by a foreign worker who was still conducting electrical work at the block’s rooftop.

The police arrested Rahman when he returned to the scene. 

The prosecution sought 5.5 to 6.5 months’ jail for the man. DPP Koh noted that the touch, albeit “fleeting”, was done to a young victim in an enclosed space. 

In mitigation, Rahman, who was unrepresented and speaking through an interpreter, said that he had committed the offence as a “form of joke”. 

Seeking forgiveness, he said that he would “never again repeat” his actions if he was allowed to continue staying in Singapore and said that his young son would “suffer” if he was in prison as he was the sole breadwinner. 

For the one charge of molest, Rahman could have been jailed for up to three years, fined or caned, or received any combination of such punishments.