The job scope of a school bus driver: drive students to and from school.
Not the job scope of a school bus driver: molest students on their way to and from school.
It is important to clarify this, because at least one (1) bus driver doesn’t get it, according to The Straits Times.
66YO Jailed for Molesting Autistic Boy
Ang Boon Hock, 66, is the one (1) bus driver in question. On his trips, he would ask the 13-year-old victim, whose name cannot be revealed, to sit next to him because he would always cry at the back.
Sounds innocuous. Except once in July 2019, the boy had the urge to urinate and clutched his genitals in an effort to restrain himself.
Because that is obviously consent for sexual behaviour that the 13-year-old was clearly able to give, Ang molested the boy by inserting his hand into his underwear.
(Full sarcasm intended. On a serious note, child molestation is not condoned.)
The boy felt distressed but only whimpered without talking, while Ang ordered him to stay quiet and keep the incident from his mother.
His mother found out anyway on 23 September last year, and a police report was quickly made, leading to Ang’s arrest and charge.
According to the prosecution, Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) James Chew, the boy was an exceptionally vulnerable person given both his young age and his special needs.
As a result, Ang could be said to have abused the boy’s and his parents’ trust in him as a school bus driver, whose job scope included driving students to school. And nothing more.
One more charge was also taken into consideration, where Ang committed a similar offence on another instance.
I’m scared of school buses now.
In Ang’s defense, his lawyer Ng Peiqi argued that he suffered from a serious heart condition that would preclude him from employment elsewhere, and had recently had a heart attack.
Because, you know, the fact that he just molested a young child by itself is obviously not disqualifying enough.
She did not make defense directly related to Ang’s actions. How are you supposed to defend a child molester anyway?
While the offense of molesting someone under 14 carries the punishment of caning, Ang was spared as he was above 50 years old.
He was sentenced to two years in jail, shorter than the maximum of five years. The fact that he pled guilty was considered in his sentencing and helped to mitigate his penalty.
Feature Image: Dan Henson / Shutterstock.com