On Wednesday, a 56-year-old Singaporean man pleaded guilty to a molestation charge in court when he was working at the hospital as a cleaner.
The court heard that while the woman was paralysed, functionally dependent, and non-communicative, she could feel and was aware of what the man was doing to her.
But owing to her debilitating condition, she was powerless to resist and unable to scream for help.
Details of the Incident
Because a gag order was issued, neither the victim, accused, nor the hospital’s name will be revealed, so as to protect the identity of the victim.
On 27 April 2021, the cleaner was mopping the hospital floor when he spotted the paralysed woman lying on the hospital bed, with two of her top pyjama’s buttons undone.
Upon catching a glimpse of her, he felt aroused and molested her.
A nurse had been nearby then, attending to another victim in the next bed behind the cubicle curtains.
After she was done, she opened the curtains and witnessed the man fondling the woman.
According to Deputy Public Prosecutor Ng Jun Chong, the man only stopped touching the woman when the nurse yelled at him after catching him red-handed.
The DPP narrated that the nurse was shocked and shrieked “what are you doing” at him. The accused appeared surprised and removed his right hand without saying anything.
Then, he left the ward to continue mopping the floor like nothing had happened.
The nurse approached the woman and asked if she was alright. When the woman was asked if the accused touched her breast, the victim blinked thrice, which the nurse understood as “yes”, since that was their method of communication.
After buttoning up the woman’s pyjamas, the nurse reported the incident to her supervisor and the police were alerted at around 1:20pm the next day.
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The Accused’s Defence
During the police interrogation, the accused said that he had committed that act of sexual immodesty because he had not taken his medications and “heard voices” telling him to touch her.
A psychiatrist from the Institute of Mental Health was called in later that year.
Although it was confirmed that the accused has schizophrenia, he had not relapsed at the time of his offence.
In short, his excuse was a lie.
Not trying to make light of mental illnesses/disorders, or assume that schizophrenics tend to have violent or perverted impulses because that statement is completely unfounded, contrary to popular movie interpretation, but wielding “mental illness” like it’s a “Get Out of Jail Free” card is utterly despicable.
To the surprise of no one, Defence Lawyer Choo Si Sen attempted to mitigate his defendant’s burden of guilt by pleading that his client has a mental condition and might not have committed the offence if he had consumed his medication.
The Judge’s Verdict
On the other hand, DPP Ng sought for a sentence between 24 to 28 months in jail, emphasising that the 57-year-old Singapore man had targeted a “particularly vulnerable” and helpless victim.
District Judge Kessler Soh considered all the evidence that was laid out before her, pointing out that according to the Institute of Mental Health’s analysis, there was no causal link between the man’s mental condition and offence.
He is expected to receive his final sentence next month.
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Featured Image: Shutterstock / H_Ko