Singapore jails Indian tourist who molested 12-year-old girl

Pramender also asked the girl to follow him into a swimming pool toilet, leaving the victim shocked and scared

A 25-year-old tourist was jailed for three months on Friday for molesting a 12-year-old girl in Singapore, asking her to follow him into toilets and sending her 13 messages on Instagram.

Indian national Pramender, who goes by one name, pleaded guilty on Friday to one charge of attempting to procure the commission of an indecent act by a child and one charge of molesting a child under 14.

A third charge of trespassing was taken into account for his sentencing.

The girl was at Jalan Besar Swimming Complex with her aunt, uncle and five cousins on March 31. She exited one of the pools at about 5.50pm, and saw the accused, who was also in the pool, staring at her.

The victim collected her phone and shower items, wrapped herself with a towel, and walked towards the female toilet. Pramender followed her from behind and caught up to her at the entrance of the female toilet.

He then asked her to follow him on Instagram and the victim turned him down. Despite this, the man took her phone and as it was unlocked, he accessed her Instagram account and used it to follow his account.

While he was using her phone, Pramender stretched out his other arm over the victim’s back and gave her a side hug for about five seconds, placing his left arm around her upper shoulder and neck.

Her towel fell from one shoulder, and his arm came into contact with the parts that were not covered by her swimsuit or towel. The court heard that the victim was left shocked and scared.

With his arm around her, Pramender asked the victim to go into the female toilet with him and walked towards the toilet. He pulled her in that direction for several steps before she resisted and he let go of her.

After he entered the female toilet by himself and called out to her, the victim replied that she had to return to her family and walked away.

Pramender left the female toilet, followed her, and went into the male toilet instead. He called out to her again, and she rebuffed him the same way once more.

As she walked away, he followed her and sat on a bench outside the male toilet, asking her to sit with him. The victim rejected him a third time, giving the same reason.

The victim found two of her cousins by the benches near the pool. She told them about what had happened and asked a female cousin to accompany her to the toilet.

As the pair walked towards the female toilet, Pramender followed them again and loitered outside the toilet entrance while they were inside.

The victim’s male cousin then told the accused to leave. He stood outside the toilet to block the accused from entering, the court heard.

Pramender then loitered at a bench outside the male toilet to wait for the victim before eventually walking away.

In the span of less than five minutes while he was waiting for her, he called the victim twice and sent her 13 messages on Instagram, which read: “Waiting for you”, “please outside meet”, “I like you”, “u brother waiting”, “reply please”, and “u come”.

The victim saw the messages while she and her cousin were in the female toilet and felt scared. The pair then left the toilet and reported the incident to the lifeguard on duty.

The case came to light when the victim’s mother sent a message to the police emergency SMS number at almost 11pm to report that her daughter was molested at Jalan Besar Swimming complex earlier that day.

Pramender was arrested on April 2.

In making her case, Deputy Public Prosecutor Ashley Chin noted that the victim was young and vulnerable at 12 years old, and that there was “some degree of exploitation”.

Pramender also engaged in “clear, intentional and repeated attempts” to procure the commission of an indecent act by the victim, she added.

In mitigation, he admitted that he made a mistake, apologised and asked the judge to forgive him.

“I already apologised to the girl’s family,” Pramender said via a translator.

His mother is a cancer patient, and he hopes to return to India as soon as possible, he said in court on Friday.

In laying out his decision, District Judge Chay Yuen Fatt noted that the situation could have been worse if the victim’s cousins were not there to protect her from Pramender.

He took deterrence, as well as the young age of the victim who was shocked and frightened by the man’s “persistent, predatory and unwanted” advances, into consideration for the man’s punishment, he added.

The punishment for attempting to procure the commission of an indecent act by a child below 16 years old is a jail term of up to seven years, a fine of up to S$10,000 (US$7,684), or both.

For molesting a child under 14 years old, Pramender could have faced a jail term of up to five years, a fine, caning, or any combination of the three.

This story was first published by CNA