Man with history of molest and indecent behaviour jailed three months for exposing himself to young girl
TODAY file photo.
SINGAPORE — What should have been a pleasant lunch with her mother and younger brother at an Italian restaurant turned out to be a repugnant experience for a 10-year-old girl. After coming out of the eatery’s toilet, she was greeted by the sight of a 44-year-old man flashing her.
For insulting the girl’s modesty, IT manager Tang Chee Leong, who had committed similar offences in the past, was sentenced to three months’ jail on Tuesday (Oct 24) by a District Court.
On Dec 2 last year, the girl, who cannot be named due to a court order, patronised a Saizeriya outlet at Toa Payoh with her eight-year-old brother and mother. Tang and one of his two daughters were also having lunch at the eatery at that time.
The girl later went to the restaurant’s washroom, where the cubicles for men and women were adjacent to each other.
After a short while, she heard someone knocking on her cubicle door asking for some toilet paper. She acceded to the request, sliding some toilet paper through the gap under the door, but the person outside asked her to open the door to pass the toilet paper.
When the girl complied, she saw Tang standing outside with his pants down, exposing himself to her while “shaking his whole body”. She passed him the toilet paper then quickly closed the door.
When the girl returned to her table, she appeared flustered and pale. She told her mother what had happened and the police were called in.
The girl’s younger brother checked the men’s toilet and saw that there was actually toilet paper inside.
Seeking a jail term of at least three months, Deputy Public Prosecutor Chee Ee Ling noted that this was the fifth time since 2001 that Tang had committed a similar offence. He had been imprisoned for molesting a teenage girl and exposing himself to other victims, she added.
Ms Chee also said the victim was still scarred by the incident 10 months after it took place, and she is now afraid to use public toilets alone.
Defence lawyer S S Dhillon, however, said that a two-month jail term was sufficient, arguing that his client did not try to molest the girl.
A psychiatric report found that although Tang has obsessive compulsive disorder, this did not affect his behaviour on the day of the incident. Mr Dhillon said his client would be seeking treatment.
In sentencing Tang, District Judge Kenneth Yap chided his “perverted” behaviour, saying that his time in jail previously “doesn’t seem to have had an impact on you”.
Noting that Tang’s offence had come at a tremendous cost to his family, including his two daughters who are “real victims” as well, the judge added: “Think about this while you spend time in prison.”
