Singaram Palianappan, 61, followed a domestic worker into an elevator and sexually assaulted her (by proxy)
Singapore:
A man from India has been sentenced to 10 months in prison after pleading guilty to using criminal force to insult the modesty of a woman and voluntarily causing bodily harm to another person with a dangerous weapon.
According to reports, Singaram Palianappan, 61, followed a domestic worker into an elevator and sexually assaulted her, keeping her trapped for nearly 90 seconds.
About a month later, while out on bail, Singaram hit a man three times at a bike shop with a metal chain wrapped around his fist. His four other similar charges were also taken into account during sentencing by the court.
According to court documents, on September 28, 2022, the domestic worker was buying food when Singaram offered her money to buy herself a drink. She initially declined the offer, but she later accepted the money on his insistence.
After getting food, she started following Singaram back to her employer’s residence. When the two arrived at the elevator in the residential building, Mr. Singaram pressed the button for level 17, but when the woman tried to press the button for level 5, Mr. Singaram stopped him.
Deputy prosecutor Geordie Kaye said that once the elevator started moving, Singaram began sexually abusing the worker. The elevator reached his 17th floor and Mr. Singaram stood by the elevator door and asked the victim to follow him.
When she refused, he returned to the elevator and selected the seventh floor. He continued to molest the domestic helper while the elevator was running. Kay said Singaram was in the elevator with the victim for about 1 minute and 28 seconds, and his every move was recorded on the elevator’s surveillance camera.
Singaram was arrested on September 28 and released on bail the next day.
About a month later, on October 28, Yeo Sukai was at his friend Hu Jianpeng’s bicycle shop when Singaram confronted the shopkeeper about problems he was facing with a personal mobility device he had purchased.
An argument then began between the two, and Singaram took a metal chain from his personal mobility device, wrapped it around his right fist, and struck Yoh three times.
Kaye asked for a prison term of nine to 11 months for Singaram, arguing that although the level of sexual exploitation was low, there were still attempts to touch the domestic worker’s breasts.
Mr Kay of the Democratic Progressive Party also addressed the assault on Mr Yeo, stressing that the metal chain used was serious considering the victim’s head injuries.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)