Cleaner who molested 10-year-old girl twice in one day at school gets nearly a year in jail

SINGAPORE — A cleaner was at work in a primary school when he molested a 10-year-old girl twice in a single day in May 2024.

In one of the incidents, he brazenly outraged the child's modesty while her schoolmates were playing nearby.

On May 14, the 67-year-old man, whose name has been redacted from court documents, was sentenced to 11 months and two weeks' jail after he pleaded guilty to two molestation charges.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Xavier Tan told the court that the victim was standing near the school canteen during recess at around 11.15am on May 6, 2024, when the offender called out to her.

He then walked up to the girl, hugged her from the front and moved his body in a lewd manner.

The girl did not return the hug, and ran into the canteen when he released her.

She was sitting at one of the tables when he approached her again, sat down, and placed his left arm around her back.

When a boy approached the victim, the man left, the court heard.

At around 11.30am, the girl was heading back to class when the man approached her yet again and tried to kiss her.

DPP Tan said: "The victim cringed and turned her head away, preventing the accused from successfully kissing her. She then walked away... and joined her schoolmates."

After that first sequence of events, the offender struck again for the second time that day, shortly before noon, when the girl was in the indoor sports hall for her physical education class.

She was playing with a ball by herself when the man hugged her from behind.

He moved his body in a lewd manner, prompting the girl to exclaim: "Don't touch me!"

The man let go, only to move in front of her and hug her again.

He moved his body lewdly again, causing the child to drop the ball. He subsequently released his grip on the victim.

A video of the incident played in court on May 14 showed him committing the offence while her schoolmates were nearby.

The girl told her teacher about her ordeal when the class ended.

The police were alerted and the man was charged in court later that year.

For each count of molesting a child below 14 years old, an offender can be jailed for up to five years, fined or caned, or receive any combination of such punishments.

The man cannot be caned as he is over 50 years old.

This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.