NUS Student Given 21-Month Probation For Molestation; Victim ‘Disappointed But Not Surprised’

Updated on 26 September 2019, 8pm, to include the victim’s Facebook post

I know what you’re thinking.

NUS? Again?!

First up was Monica Baey case. I’m sure you remember that case of her peeping tom.

And then the school took additional measures, but people don’t learn.

Then came another peeping tom.

Now, here comes a molester from… NUS.

Not sure if NUS truly has a higher percentage of perverts or it’s just confirmation bias.

Or maybe the stress from studying at NUS is a bit too much.

What? No, I’m not salty because I couldn’t get into NUS. You’re salty.

NUS Student Molested Woman In MRT Station

23-year-old Terence Siow was on a train on the North-East Line towards Punggol when he spotted a woman.

A woman in shorts with “very long legs”.

He sat down next to her and claimed that he felt an irresistible urge to touch her.

Like how we carefully dip our toes into the swimming pool to test the temperature, Terence used the fingers on his left hand to “test the water” on her right thigh.

Perhaps thinking it was a genuine accident or that she was taking up too much space, the 28-year-old woman then shifted away slightly and crossed her legs.

But upon feeling him touching her thigh again, she probably started feeling uncomfortable and moved to another seat.

But he did not give up. Terence knew the meaning of the perseverance.

Okay but wrong thing to persevere for sure.

He followed her after she exited the train and stood behind her on the escalator.

This Was When He Could Resist No Longer.

He started to touch her butt with his fingers.

She was tolerating his actions no longer and she turned around to shout at him.

As he quickly tried to make his escape, she told a station officer at the control station of the molestation.

She then also made a police report about later on.

Fortunately, the police managed to make an arrest at Hougang Avenue 5 three days later.

Probation?!

The court called for probation suitability hearing after his conviction in a previous hearing.

The prosecutor strongly objected it, claiming that it was a “deep-seated habit” that he knew was wrong but “was emboldened by previous successes”.

Wait, what!?

Terence had apparently committed similar offences since 2016 but had not been caught. Until now.

The Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) requested for him to be jailed for six weeks instead.

However, the District Judge Jasvender Kaur described the offence as “minor“.

You’d expect the word “minor” to be used on something like a kid stealing a piece of bread for his starving sister.

But for molestation by a repeat offender? Emboldened by previous successes?

In the end, he was sentenced to 21 months of supervised probation and is getting help from NUS to manage his behaviour.

The judge added that he has “confidence [he] will not re-offend” and asked Terence not to disappoint him.

But you know who is disappointed already? The victim.

Disappointed But Not Surprised

After being told of the sentence by The New Paper, the victim claimed that while she was disappointed, she was not surprised.

While it’s a little cryptic, but it possibly meant that she felt that Singapore’s sentencings are too lax against cases of outrage of modesty.

That certainly isn’t true, but a little selective perception can definitely lead one to believe so.

A person by the name of Karmen Siew, who is allegedly the victim, posted a public Facebook post to explain her side of the story:

In case you can’t read, here’s what she has written:

Yes, it’s me.

1) It was not my buttocks. He ran his finger along my genital area.

2) I was offered $5,000 to compound the case for a lighter sentence. I refused to do so, and this is the resulting (read: not light) sentence.

3) He literally got a “get out of jail” free card because of his academic performance.

4) Brock Turner.

5) I’m not angry anymore. I am just disappointed that the courts are choosing to treat an adult who has committed multiple sexual offences (not only on me, but on others) as a child, but I am not surprised.

6) Thank you DPP Benedict Chan for fighting for me 🙂 From what I understand, I do not have the power to appeal, so I leave it in your hands.

7) I don’t know who made it, but there is a petition here:
https://www.change.org/p/attorney-general-s-chambers-say-no-to-favorable-sentences-for-educated-sex-offenders

8) He is a math tutor with Champion Tutors and the info is in my profile picture and Priss’ comment thread.

I also hope that this case is a rare outlier and molestation cases aren’t taken this lightly.

For women, don’t suffer in silence. Call out for help if you’re ever made a victim.

For men, I understand it’s biological, but control your urges better. You’ve got lots of content on the Internet to help with that. Use it.

(I meant Netflix shows to distract yourself. What were you thinking?)

Let’s all move towards a better society together.