Man admits flashing private parts at woman, repeatedly harassing her on a train during peak hour

SINGAPORE: A man repeatedly harassed a stranger on the train and nudged her with his elbow, before flashing his private parts at her.

Even after he had alighted from the train, he turned on the escalator to face the victim and made a gesture that insulted her modesty.

Makesvaran Visuranatham, a 37-year-old Malaysian national, pleaded guilty to three charges of criminal force, intentionally exposing himself to obtain sexual gratification and insulting the modesty of the victim. A fourth charge will be considered in sentencing.

The court heard that the victim, a 30-year-old woman, boarded a train at Raffles Place before 7.40am on May 2 last year.

She sat down at the corner seat, with the glass panel on her right, and Makesvaran sat down on her left.

The victim felt Makesvaran nudge her waist with his elbow, but ignored it as she thought it was an accident. Later, she felt him touching the area between her armpit and her waist with his elbow again.

Makesvaran showed the victim his handphone and told her he was late for work, as he had fallen asleep on the train. The victim again felt his elbow touching her upper body.

Makesvaran asked her how many more stations there were before Jurong East MRT Station, and the victim told him that there were seven more. She then stood up and walked to another cabin.

The victim sat down in a different cabin, but Makesvaran followed her and sat beside her again. He asked her where she was alighting and how many stops there were to Jurong East MRT Station.

She told him that there were four or five more stops, before standing up and walking towards a grab pole. 

While facing the victim, Makesvaran exposed his private parts to her without her consent and made a sexual gesture.

The victim walked away and stood in front of the train doors. Makesvaran followed her, positioning himself at a glass panel and facing her. He exposed himself to her again.

When the train arrived at Jurong East, Makesvaran alighted before the victim. While he was on the down-riding escalator, he turned to face the victim, who was two steps above him.

He began making another sexual gesture. The victim shouted at him and held onto his shirt to prevent him from running away.

The station master at the train station called the police, and Makesvaran was later arrested.

The prosecutor asked for five to six weeks' jail and a fine of S$500 to S$1,000, highlighting the accused's pattern of "repeated harassment towards the victim".

The offender followed the victim repeatedly, and exposed himself to her twice, said the prosecutor.

He will return for sentencing next month.