Singapore—An employee at a nursing home was sentenced to jail on Wednesday (Jan 22) after previously being acquitted for molesting a bed-ridden resident.
The male employee was reportedly hired to do housekeeping and maintenance work in the nursing home.
The incident happened on November 26, 2016.
According to the eyewitness account of a nurse at the home, she heard a cry of pain coming from the victim’s (55) bed.
The nurse was “shocked” to see that the accused (32) had his pants down and was mounting the victim whose diaper has been exposed as she cried on the bed.
The victim could not move because the left side of her body and face was paralysed.
The accused committed the sexual assault in a room full of other patients who were suffering from dementia.
The nurse called for help and reported the incident to another nursing aide. At the time of the incident, other residents were attending a community development event elsewhere.
During the court hearing, the accused denied any wrongdoing. He argued that he went to the room because one of the residents asked him for help with the television. Then, he claimed he was merely adjusting the victim’s pillows as he mounted himself on top of her.
In 2018, the accused was initially convicted and sentenced to 22 months jail and three strokes of the cane.
However, his appeal was approved by Justice Aedit Abdullah who said the nurse’s eyewitness account was “not strong enough” to prove the case beyond reasonable doubt as reported by Today.
On Wednesday (Jan 22), Chief Justice Menon ruled that the accused’s account was inconsistent with the sequence of events according to the CCTV footage.
The accused was also tall enough to adjust the victim’s pillow without having to mount her on the bed.
He is now sentenced to 16 months in jail along with three strokes of the cane.-/TISG
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