A 46-year-old Indian origin Singapore based doctor allegedly molested four women in Marina Bay Sands rooftop infinity pool on the 57th storey building on June 28. He was jailed for four weeks on Thursday, July 12 after the alleged molester pleaded guilty in the court.
The doctor, Jagdeep Singh Arora faced two counts of molestation charges and the judge will consider two more charges during sentencing.
Court documents have revealed that on the day of the crime the wife of the accused was with him. But, the documents did not mention that whether she saw Jagdeep while committing the crime or not. Even though the available evidence clarified that when the accused tough two victims, his wife was present at the location but, it is not known if she was with Jagdeep when he molested two other victims.
During the court hearing, the judge heard that on June 28 a 25-year-old tourist from Lithuania was inside the pool and he noticed Jagdeep along with his wife. The Lithuanian realised that the accused moved very close to her and felt that his hand was brushing her buttock. When she turned towards Jagdeep, she saw his hand inside the water touching her body inappropriately.
The woman stopped the alleged molester through her elbow and then told the incident to her husband. Soon, another woman came forward and told the Lithuanian woman that Jagdeep has molested her also. Later, both of the victims informed the security officers about the incident.
The court heard that the doctor attempted his next move towards a 20-year-old Korean woman, who was wearing a bikini like other victims and touched her stomach. This incident happened almost 39 minutes later since he touched the Lithuanian woman.
The Deputy Public Prosecutor Mark Yeo told the court that the Korean woman was shocked and did not know how to react to the incident but, the accused walked away from the spot. But, after a few minutes, he again came back to the Korean woman and molested her as well as her friend.
When these two victims complained about Jagdeep's behaviour to the security officials, the local police was informed and asked to come to the rooftop infinity pool, where all four molestations took place. After the arrival of the police, they arrested the accused, who later admitted that he molested those unnamed women.
As per the Section 354 of the Penal Code, the following is a non-exhaustive list of factors highlighted by local courts for sentencing in outrage of modesty cases:
- Which part of the victim's body did the offender touch?
- How did the offender touch the victim/the manner in which the victim was molested?
- How long did the molestation last?
- Was the offence premeditated or committed on the spur of the moment?
- Were the circumstances in which the offence was committed inherently reprehensible?
- Is the offender recalcitrant?
- Is the offender suffering from a mental disorder or intellectual disability?
- What is the relationship between the offender and the victim?
The general punishment which stipulates that the assault or use of criminal force to a person with an intention to outrage the modesty is a criminal offence which will be liable to a jail term of up to two years, or a fine, or with caning, or a combination of the above-mentioned punishments.
