Singapore: 51-Year-Old Indian National Jailed to Five Months for Molesting 12-Year-Old Girl at Supermarket When Intoxicated

Singapore, September 5: A 51-year-old Indian national was sentenced to five months in jail in Singapore on Tuesday for molesting a 12-year-old girl last year in a supermarket when intoxicated. Thanikkodi Shanmugam, a permanent resident of Singapore, pleaded guilty to one count of using criminal force on a minor to outrage her modesty, Channel News Asia reported. The court heard that the minor girl was with her mother at a supermarket in the Sembawang housing precinct at about 12.30 pm on July 17, 2022, when Shanmugam touched the minor inappropriately and walked off.

The victim informed her mother, who chased Shanmugam with her daughter following. This was captured on closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage. Continuing to walk away, Shanmugam broke into a run and took a lift up a block of flats while the victim's mother called the police. Three passers-by helped stop the Indian national, and the victim's mother took his photo, but Shanmugam broke free and ran off again. Maharashtra Shocker: Woman Suffocates Five-Year-Old Daughter to Death in Akola; Arrested

She continued chasing him until her slippers "broke", said the prosecutor, adding that she then lost sight of him. Meanwhile, her daughter, shivering, remained with the passers-by, who tried to calm her down. Shanmugam was identified and arrested that same afternoon. When first interviewed by the police, he denied the offence, saying the touch was "accidental" and that he did not remember the incident. Jammu and Kashmir: Fake Recruitment Scam in Military Engineering Service Busted in Kupwara, Five Arrested

Shanmugam had consumed hard liquor and was intoxicated at the time of the incident, the prosecutor was quoted as saying in the report. The prosecutor sought a sentence of five to seven months jail term for Shanmugam. For molesting a minor, Shanmugam could have been jailed for up to five years, fined, or both. He cannot be caned as he is above 50, which otherwise is mandated by the law of those under 50.