Widower molested woman who looked like his late wife, gets jail
SINGAPORE: Thinking that a stranger resembled his late wife, a widower followed the woman and later molested her as she tried to exit a lift.
Sim Kah Hwee, 35, was jailed for 10 days on Thursday (Nov 25) for one count of molestation.
The court heard that Sim had gone for drinks with colleagues after work at about 7pm on Oct 18, 2019.
He consumed "quite a lot of hard liquor" and took a ride home to the Tampines area at about 11pm, said the prosecutor.
As Sim was walking along a footpath near a Housing Board block, he noticed the victim, a 25-year-old woman.
She resembled his late wife, and he decided to follow her, instead of going to his mother's house like he originally planned.
The victim entered a lift at her block at about 11.45pm. As the doors were about to close, Sim caught up with her and pressed the button so that he could enter.
Inside the lift, he stood near the doors so that the victim would have to squeeze past him to exit the lift.
When it reached her floor, the victim began walking out of the elevator, and Sim grabbed her buttock.
The victim turned around and scolded Sim, and Sim pressed the lift buttons so that the doors would close. However, the victim tried to grab him with her hands, and he pushed her aside and ran out.
He took the stairs down and walked away quickly towards his mother's house.
"The victim felt disgusted when the accused touched her, but was not injured in any way," said the prosecutor.
She called the police saying that a man had just groped her and ran away.
The police arrested Sim in the Tampines area within the hour. His blood sample was tested and found to contain 45mg of ethanol per 100ml of blood. Singapore's drink-driving legal limit is 80mg per 100ml.
For molesting the victim, Sim could have been sentenced to two years' jail, a fine, caning, or any combination of these penalties.