A former Grab private hire car driver was sentenced to 24 months in prison and four strokes of the cane for molesting two seven-year-old and 10-year-old girls in a private car.
The defendant Lom Mun Hoi, 48, pleaded not guilty to three counts of molesting a girl under the age of 14, but was found guilty after trial.
To protect victims, the media must not report any material that would reveal the identity of the victim.
According to the prosecution’s closing statement, on the afternoon of June 14, 2017, the seven-year-old girl and her mother took the defendant’s private car home after shopping at Tampines Mall. The girl and her mother originally sat in the back seat together, but the defendant suddenly asked the girl’s mother if the girl was 1.3 meters tall.
The defendant said that children under 1.3 meters in height could not sit in the back seat with their parents, and asked the girl’s mother to move to the front seat of the car. When the girl’s mother got out of the car to change seats, the defendant took the opportunity to turn around and molested the girl’s private parts. The girl felt unwell and moved to the seat behind the driver to avoid the accused.
After the private car arrived at the destination, before the victim girl got off the bus, the defendant turned around and molested her again, gave her a candy, and called her a “good girl”.
Feeling ashamed and afraid, the girl did not tell her mother immediately after the incident. Instead, she quietly told her friends what happened a few days later when she went to play at a friend’s house. The friend’s mother was shocked when she found out, and advised the girl to tell her mother what had happened, which revealed the defendant’s crime.
On August 25 of the same year, a 10-year-old girl took a private car alone to her friend’s house in Yishun for the night. The defendant not only asked the girl about personal questions such as the girl’s address and family situation in the car, but also asked the girl to add him as a friend on Facebook and take her to McDonald’s for dinner. The accused even turned around and reached out to stroke the girl’s knee several times when he was stopped at a red light.
Before the girl got out of the car, the defendant also gave her three candies, touched her cheek, and told her to be good. The girl was frightened, got out of the car immediately, and told her friends about her experience after arriving at her friend’s house. After the friend’s parents learned about it, they notified the girl’s mother. The girl’s mother eventually took her to the police station to report the crime.
The prosecutor pointed out that the testimony of the two victims was rigorous and credible. They had never had any interaction with the defendant before the crime and had no reason to slander him. On the other hand, when the defendant appeared in court for cross-examination, his testimony was inconsistent and evasive. For example, although he has lived in Yishun since 2000, he said that he was only familiar with the old HDB flats in the district.
The accused appeared in court today (April 4) accompanied by his mother and sobbed as the judge announced the sentence.