Man molested boy, 12, twice in Woodlands lift

A 12-year-old boy was molested twice in at a lift in Woodlands by the same man.

According to The Straits Times, Syed Hashim Wahid, 29, was jailed for eight months after he admitted to touching the victim in a lift at a block of flats in Woodlands on 24 May last year.

Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Chee Ee Ling laid out the timeline of events in court.

The victim was cycling home at 8.50pm after buying some groceries when he noticed Hashim standing near the rubbish chute area at the HDB block.

As soon as the victim wheeled his bicycle into the lift, Hashim followed him in and struck up a conversation with the boy.

As the lift was ascending, Hashim stretched out his hand and molested the victim. The victim reacted by immediately covering his groin area with his hand and Hashim retracted his hand.

The victim was scared and did not tell anyone.

The next day, he bumped into Hashim again in the lift and the same thing happened. The boy finally mustered up his courage and told his mother about the incidents.

A neighbour called to report the case to the police a few days later.

DPP Chee sought at least 10 months' jail to be imposed, citing various aggravating factors.

She said the victim's private part was intruded upon and the offence was premeditated.

"The audacity of the accused in committing the offence in the lift in the course of two consecutive days should be viewed with disapprobation and a harsher sentence commensurate with the enhanced degree of exploitation against the child victim should be meted out," she argued.

Hashim, she said, had brazenly approached the victim on the pretext of getting to know him. He took advantage of the fact that the boy's mobility was restricted by his bicycle in the lift.

For outrage of modesty, Hashim could have been jailed for up to two years, fined, caned or received any combination of punishments.