Man molested three women in 15-minute alcohol-fuelled crime spree at Orchard Road

Andrew Wong
The Straits Times
February 14, 2024

After an evening of drinking at Lucky Plaza, a man went on a 15-minute alcohol-fuelled crime spree and molested three women.

On Feb 14, Joseph Mark Mervyn, 48, was sentenced to eight months’ jail after he pleaded guilty to one charge of molestation.

Two other counts of molestation and one count of using criminal force on another person were taken into consideration for sentencing. He will serve his sentence from March 13.

The court heard that on the evening of Aug 6, 2023, Joseph left a pub in Lucky Plaza after consuming three shots of tequila and five bottles of Heineken beer.

At about 6.50pm, an 18-year-old girl was with a friend at a staircase in the shopping centre when Joseph approached her from behind and molested her.

The victim later called the police to report that she had been molested.

At around 6.55pm, Joseph continued his crime spree by molesting a 44-year-old woman outside Lucky Plaza.

About five minutes later, he choked a 20-year-old woman at a zebra crossing outside Lucky Plaza with his right arm before pushing her backwards. The victim managed to wrestle his grip off her neck, the court heard.

At 7.05pm, 15 minutes after his first offence, Joseph molested a 28-year-old woman at the underpass near Tangs department store.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Brian Tan said the fourth victim was with her father, who chased Joseph and detained him until the police arrived.

Seeking a jail term of between seven and eight months, DPP Tan said Joseph was intoxicated at the time of his offences.

Joseph, who represented himself in court, said in his mitigation: “Although I was drunk, there was no excuse for me to do such a thing. I’m remorseful.”

He committed a similar crime nearly three decades ago in 1996. The then 20-year-old served nine months in jail and received three strokes of the cane for molesting and assaulting an 18-year-old girl at a staircase in Far East Plaza.

For each count of molestation, an offender can be jailed for up to three years, fined, caned or receive any combination of such punishments.

For using criminal force on another person, an offender can be jailed for three months and fined up to $1,500.