Singapore—17-year-old Khamalhan Kavnor Subramaniam, a Malaysian national, pleaded to three counts of molestation on Tuesday (Feb 25) before the State Courts. Mr Khamalhan was caught molesting three women within a span of six hours, including two senior citizens in their 70s.
An additional charge of insulting the modesty of a woman was taken into consideration in Mr Khamalhan’s case. He is due back in court on March 3, and could receive a maximum jail sentence of two years, a fine, a caning, or any combination of the penalties for the offence of molestation, The New Paper (TNP) reports.
In late December he was charged with outraging the modesty of the three women using criminal force.
Read related:Â Teen allegedly groped 3 women, including two who are in their 70s
The incidents of molestation occurred on the evening of Dec 16, 2019, in three separate apartment blocks. The first incident occurred at around 6pm when the teen saw a 79-year-old woman on the eighth floor of an apartment block in Whampoa West.Â
As she was in a squatting position in the corridor, Khamalhan reportedly went up to her and groped her private parts.
Shortly afterwards, in an apartment block in Bendemeer Road, he touched a 49-year-old woman’s buttocks while they were in the lift.
At around 10pm, he went to a nearby apartment block and allegedly molested a 73-year-old woman by grabbing her chest area.
Two videos were shown in court of Mr Khamalhan committing these offences against the women. His deeds were characterized by Bjorn Tan, the Deputy Public Prosecutor on the case, as serious and egregious, although his young age and lack of prior offenses were also mentioned by the DPP.
District Judge Ong Chin Rhu called for a report to establish whether or not Mr Khamalhan is suited for reformative training, to which the prosecution did not object.
Foo Ho Chew, who represented Mr Khamalhan, had no objection to the report either. He added that his client had been assaulted by another detainee while in custody.
According to the judge, Mr Khamalhan should file a police report concerning the assault, and DPP Tan said the prosecution would investigate the allegation.
Several teens have been in the news for sexual misconduct throughout the past year. Two of the people behind SG Nasi Lemak, a group on the messaging app Telegram that distributed pornographic material and at one time counted over 40,000 members, were teenagers.
In October 2019 , 17-year-old Abdillah Sabaruddin and 19-year-old Justin Lee Han Shi were arrested and charged with transmitting obscene materials by electronic means and conspiracy to commit distributions of obscene materials, under Section 292(a) read with Section 109 of the Penal Code, Chapter 224.
Last December, an 18-year-old admitted to molesting his 12-year-old sister and coercing her to perform an obscene act on him this year.
In another case in April 2019, a 16-year-old was given a probation sentence of a year and nine months after he pleaded guilty to one count each of molestation and sexually exploiting a minor, a 14-year-old-girl who had been his classmate in 2017, when the offences were committed. -/TISG
NUS student alleges that man tried to take upskirt photos of her on the train