A 46-year-old man, who molested a female supermarket cashier on December 3, 2016, finally sentenced to six months of jail on Friday.
The incident took place after the convict, Rasu Panchanathan, visited a supermarket in Bukit Batok. When the female victim, who is a Myanmar national, denied entertaining the man, who was unemployed at that time, he followed her around the store during her duty hours.
As reports stated, one hour later when the woman cashier, when out of the supermarket to dump some rubbish, Rasu tried to stop her and talk to her even though the unnamed victim was not interested. Later, when she was re-entering the supermarket, the man grabbed her breast with his left hand but the cashier pushed Rasu's hand away.
Another man, who was passing by, saw the incident and heard that the female employee of the supermarket was shouting for help. Then another man, who came across the altercation between the convict and the woman, immediately called the police.
During the hearing on Friday, the Deputy Public Prosecutor Asoka Markandu urged for at least six months of imprisonment for outraging the modesty of a foreign woman, who is working in Singapore, with intentional use of criminal force.
At the end of the court hearing the District Judge Edgar Foo found Rasu guilty under the law for Outrage of Modesty and sentenced him to six months of jail term.
However, usually as per Section 354 of the Penal Code if a person found guilty of assaulting anyone or using criminal force with the intent to outrage modesty, then the convict could face a jail term up to 2 years, or a fine, or with caning, or a combination of the above-mentioned punishments.
