Man broke into house for cigarettes, kissed sleeping neighbour
SINGAPORE — While searching for cigarettes, a man broke into a neighbour's house and stumbled upon her sleeping in her room.
He then straddled and kissed her. The married man claimed later to investigators that he felt a strong connection to the victim.
The 33-year-old man was jailed for six months on Thursday (27 May) after he pleaded guilty to one count of molest, with a charge of trespass considered for his sentencing.
The man and the victim both cannot be named due to a court gag order to protect the latter's identity.
The 29-year-old woman was working from home on 18 January when she decided to take a nap at around 11.30am. She headed to her bedroom, leaving her main door open and main gate unlocked.
Around the same time, the man, who lived on the same floor as her, wanted to smoke a cigarette but had no cigarettes at home. He decided to ask his neighbours for cigarettes and approached the victim's unit.
When he saw that the victim's unit gate and main door were not locked, he entered the unit and began searching the living room for cigarettes. Unable to find any, he entered the bedroom where the victim was sleeping on her left side.
The man then turned her body, so that the woman lay on her back, and sat on her waist. He then began French kissing her.
At this point, the woman woke up and recognised the man, as she had seen him at their common corridor. She struggled to push him away and shouted at him to leave. Shocked, the man left for his own flat.
The victim called her fiance about the incident. The fiance informed her to report the matter to the police and seek her cousin's help to do so.
Later, while at home, the accused person heard someone, who was a cousin of the victim, shouting from outside his unit and asking him to come out. Scared, the man called the police, saying, "This person wants to beat me."
When police officers later arrived at the man's residence, he refused to open the door. He began speaking gibberish and threatened to jump out the window. The Singapore Civil Defence Force was activated to the scene and deployed an air bag if the man were to carry out his threat.
Whilst police officers continued to interact with the man, they also contacted his wife and managed to obtain the key to his unit from his mother-in-law. He was later arrested after police officers gained entry into his flat.
The man was sent to the Institute of Mental Health for a psychiatric evaluation and his report stated that he did not have a mood disorder or psychotic illness, was not of unsound mind, and was aware of his actions.
When asked to explain his reason for sexually assaulting the victim, the man said that he had a “feeling” that he was “connected” to the victim and believed that they were “meant to be together”.
In mitigation, the man apologised and pleaded for leniency through his interpreter, saying he had to pay for his wife's upkeep.
For molest, the man may have been jailed up to two years, or fined, or caned, or any combination of the punishments.
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