A 72-year-old man claimed that he was a doctor and instructed a maid to strip for health examination.
Chia Fook Kun later molested the 23-year-old maid, who was in his care as she was being investigated for stealing from her previous employer.
He was given one year in jail on Friday on one count of outrage of modesty, while two other charges were taken into consideration.
The court heard that Chia works part-time for a maid agency and would send domestic helpers from one location to another. He would also put up maids in his Jalan Minyak flat as and when required. On Nov 13 last year, the victim – who cannot be named because of a gag order – was arrested because she was caught stealing. Her agency had arranged for Chia to bail her out and to take custody of her during investigations.
The victim later asked Chia to help her as she did not want to go to jail.
Three days later, Chia lied to the victim that he was a doctor and showed her some photos and certificates on his computer to trick her into believing him.
After “examining” her with a blood pressure device and a stethoscope, he told her she was in poor health and he wanted to apply some cream on her chest.
Chia then made her go to the bedroom and remove her shirt and bra, before applying the cream on her breasts. He later unbuttoned her jeans but was interrupted by a phone call. While he was answering the phone, the victim dressed herself and left the room. She later made a police report.
Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) James Low called for a sentence of a year. He noted that Chia was also convicted of outrage of modesty in 2001 and was jailed for 15 months then. DPP Low added that the victim was vulnerable and Chia took advantage of her fear.
Another aggravating factor was the “significant degree of deception and premeditation” as Chia claimed he was a doctor and even produced documents to trick the victim though he was not medically trained, said DPP Low. “If not for his age, the prosecution would have sought a stiffer sentence.”
Chia’s lawyer Louis Joseph said that his client is in poor health and regretted his actions. He asked for a lighter sentence.
District Judge Liew Thiam Leng sentenced Chia to a year in jail, after considering the two other charges and his previous conviction. Chia asked to defer his sentence for two weeks and the judge raised his bail from $5,000 to $15,000.
He could have been jailed up to two years and fined.
Source: www.straitstimes.com
