An elderly man, Ambrose Lee, 72, was sentenced to three weeks in jail for molesting two teenage boys on public transport in separate incidents. Lee pleaded guilty to one count of using words intended to insult modesty and one count of outrage of modesty during a court hearing on January 21.
Due to a gag order, the identities of the victims, aged 15 and 18, cannot be disclosed.
According to the report, the court was informed of the incidents that took place on May 17 and May 20, 2023. In the first incident, Lee approached the 18-year-old victim on a bus. The teenager, dressed in his school uniform, was seated by the window when Lee boarded and chose to sit next to him despite the presence of empty seats. Lee initiated small talk, asking for the victim’s name, to which the teen responded with a fictitious name.
During the conversation, Lee made inappropriate remarks, including an unsolicited offer for a massage, which the victim declined. He then proceeded to touch the victim’s thigh, squeezing it twice. When the victim attempted to move away, Lee held the boy’s waist as he passed.
Closed-circuit television footage from the bus, presented in court, captured Lee’s inappropriate behavior, which went unnoticed by at least five other passengers nearby. The victim reported the incident to the police on the same day.
In a subsequent incident on May 20, while on a train between City Hall and Ang Mo Kio MRT stations, Lee targeted a 15-year-old boy, asking him if he had reached puberty. He then used his finger to draw circles on the boy’s thigh.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Goh Qi Shuen requested a sentence of four to five weeks, highlighting that Lee had molested another victim shortly after the first incident, the report added.
During the sentencing phase, Lee’s lawyer, Mr. James Gomez Jovian Messiah, described his client as a “very family-oriented individual” who has received unwavering support from his wife and relatives during this time. The defense emphasized Lee’s age, medical conditions, and lack of prior offenses, arguing for a maximum sentence of three weeks.
Deputy Principal District Judge Kessler Soh took Lee’s age and the fact that this was his first offense into consideration before handing down the sentence. Judge Soh also arranged for Lee to meet with a court counselor and allowed him to begin serving his sentence after the Chinese New Year so he could spend time with his family.
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