Man jailed for molesting 2 teenage boys on buses, said he could not remember how often he had done it before
While Machiyoshi Lim Dao Jian was not of unsound mind at the time, a psychiatrist who examined him said that his actions could be described as “a maladaptive coping mechanism to deal with emotional stress and social isolation”.
SINGAPORE — A 28-year-old man who molested two secondary school students on separate occasions in March was sentenced in a district court to 14 weeks’ jail on Monday (June 1).
While Machiyoshi Lim Dao Jian was not of unsound mind at the time, a psychiatrist who examined him said that his actions could be described as “a maladaptive coping mechanism to deal with emotional stress and social isolation”.
The court heard that this was not the first time Lim had touched young boys, having done so since October last year.
The court further heard that he was “unable to remember” how many times he had done this before, but said he usually molested those in their school uniform shorts or Physical Education shorts.
Lim, a Singaporean, pleaded guilty to one molestation charge. Another similar charge was taken into consideration for sentencing.
His sentence was backdated to March 21 when he was first remanded.
Court documents stated that he first struck on March 11 at about 8am, while on board bus service 187. While travelling along Bukit Batok West Avenue 1, he rubbed a 15-year-old boy’s thigh.
Five days later, Lim and his second victim — a 14-year-old student who was wearing his school uniform — boarded bus service 976 at 113 Teck Whye Lane.
Even though the bus was not crowded, Lim sat next to the boy. He then put his left hand on the boy’s seat and began touching the boy’s buttock.
“The victim felt a pressure on his right buttock, which lasted for about a minute. He saw that the accused was sitting very close to him and that the accused’s left leg was touching his right leg,” Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Derek Ee told the court.
When the boy said “excuse me” and moved his leg away, Lim shifted away before moving closer again a few minutes later.
After Lim molested the boy again, the boy leaned forward. Lim then put his hand on the boy’s seat so that when the boy sat back, Lim could cup his buttocks.
Feeling disgusted by Lim’s actions, the boy stood up and went to tell the bus captain what had happened. The driver called the police and locked down the bus. Lim tried to alight but was stopped, before police officers arrived.
Lim admitted to molesting his victim for about five to seven minutes, and said he usually targeted boys by sitting beside them in buses and touching their thighs.
After he was arrested, he went through a forensic psychiatric assessment at the Institute of Mental Health from March 27 to May 21.
“(Dr Jason Lee) found that he was not suffering from any psychotic disorder, but noted that paraphilic disorder(s) should remain on the list of differential diagnoses given the accused’s modus operandi in the context of the alleged offences, including his targeted approach and victim selection,” DPP Ee said.
Paraphilic disorders, which result in recurrent and atypical sexual fantasies or behaviours that cause distress or threaten to harm someone else, include fetishism and paedophilia.
For molestation, Lim could have been jailed up to two years, fined, caned, or any combination of the three.
