SINGAPORE – At Northpoint City mall in Yishun, 73-year-old Lim Cheng Kiat had ill intentions, having violated three girls between the ages of 13 and 15 in a single day.
The unemployed Singaporean pleaded guilty last month to three counts of public indecency and is currently awaiting sentence. His sentencing hearing was postponed until later due to the need to review a correctional training and preventive detention report. This report would allow the court to consider severe punishment involving long-term imprisonment. The victims’ identities cannot be disclosed due to a court order.
On the afternoon of February 23 this year, the first victim, a 15-year-old girl in her school uniform, was walking around the second basement level of the mall with a friend when they encountered Lim. He intentionally walked towards her, bumped into her left cheek with his right shoulder, and pinched her chest over her blouse before quickly leaving. Feeling disgusted, she reported the incident to a staff member at the mall’s service counter, who assisted her in filing a police report.
According to Deputy Public Prosecutor Kiera Yu, after the incident with the first victim, Lim encountered the second victim, a 13-year-old girl in her school uniform, on the first level of the mall. He walked towards her, bumped into her with his shoulder, and pinched her chest over her blouse before quickly leaving. Shocked, the second victim told her mother, who subsequently brought her to the police station to file a report.
The third victim ran into Lim while buying food in a Subway sandwich shop. She, a 15-year-old girl, was also in her school uniform. While she was looking at the menu, Lim forcefully nudged her with his right shoulder and gripped her chest over her blouse, then swiftly left the shop.
Following Lim’s departure, the girl immediately began crying to her friend about what had just occurred. She later went to a police station to report that she had been molested.
Lim was eventually identified through closed-circuit television footage and was arrested at 11:11 p.m. on the same day. During the police investigation, he admitted that he intentionally touched the victims and referred to these incidents as “trivial” because he did not “rape” the victims. He also admitted to deliberately bumping into each victim while simultaneously touching their chests, trying to make it appear accidental.
When asked by District Judge Eugene Teo if he wanted to submit a mitigation plea, Lim responded that to “mitigate is to become a coward” and that “it is okay to die in prison.”
In the prosecution’s address on sentencing, Deputy Prosecutor Yu stressed the severity of Lim’s crimes and his obstinacy, pointing to the need for a deterrent sentence proportionate to his criminal behavior.
Lim’s sentencing is set for June 20.
