SINGAPORE, Oct 22 — He was married with three children, but went on dating application Tinder under a pseudonym to meet other women.
Mohammad Imran Sahib Mohamed Ibrahim Sahib went clubbing with one such date and her friend.
After going to their third and last nightclub, his date vomited at the car park. It was then that Imran kissed the other woman before stroking her thigh in his car and sucking on her fingers.
Imran claimed trial to three charges of molesting the 21-year-old woman and using criminal force on her.
Today, a district judge convicted him of all charges.
The 38-year-old Singaporean will return to court on Nov 13 and is expected to be sentenced then. He remains out on bail of S$5,000.
At the time of his offences on March 4, 2018, he drove for private-hire firm Grab.
Imran was briefly once a national footballer. He made one appearance for the national team in a World Cup qualifier against Oman in 2004. He also played in the S.League as it was known then, most recently as a defender with Tampines Rovers Football Club.
During the trial, he denied kissing the victim and said he was only consoling her. He also denied touching her in his car, claiming that she had behaved in a deplorable manner such as by flirting with him and consuming methamphetamine.
District Judge Kan Shuk Weng noted that Imran had not mentioned the drugs until the trial began, and that the victim had no reason to lie on the stand.
She cannot be named due to a gag order to protect her identity. She is now 23 years old and married.
Thought he acted out of character
Imran had introduced himself to the victim’s friend under the name “Aprak” on Tinder. She only knew of his real name when they were driving to Johor Baru on an earlier trip and an immigration officer called out his name at the checkpoint.
That fateful evening, they ended up at the Baliza nightclub in the Marina Bay area.
After leaving when it closed at 6am, the victim’s friend vomited at the Marina Square shopping mall car park.
The victim testified that when she asked her friend if she was okay, Imran suddenly grabbed her face and kissed her. She immediately pushed him away but did not tell her friend in order not to hurt her feelings.
They then got into Imran’s car. The victim sat at the rear while her friend sat in the front passenger seat.
Imran insisted on taking his date home before doing the same for the victim.
She testified that she did not think Imran would strike again, as she thought he had acted out of character due to his intoxicated state.
After her friend got home, he told the victim to sit in the front passenger seat.
As Imran drove out of the car park, he touched the victim’s thigh. She pushed his hand away but he then lifted her skirt and forcefully grabbed her inner thigh.
She testified that when she pushed him away again, he grabbed her hand, put her fingers in his mouth and sucked them.
Feeling “terrified, shocked, very unprotected and hopeless”, she sent text messages to her friend with several spelling errors.
Imran tried to snatch her mobile phone away, but the other woman then called him and told him to send the victim home.
When Imran stopped near a bus stop to relieve himself, the victim alighted and walked barefooted for almost half an hour to her friend’s place. She eventually took a taxi home.
Has trust issues to this day
About two weeks later, the victim posted a photograph of Imran on Instagram with a vulgar phrase.
She then lodged a police report at Teck Ghee Neighbourhood Police Post later that day with her sister’s encouragement. She was initially reluctant as she was afraid of Imran.
She testified that since the incident, she had nightmares of people raping her. She also dreamt that she had committed suicide.
“She also has trust issues and every time she takes a (private-hire car), she will be reminded of the incident. To this day, it is clear that she is still traumatised by her ordeal as she appeared visibly upset and broke down four times while testifying in court,” Deputy Public Prosecutor Chee Ee Ling said.
For molestation, Imran can be jailed for up to two years, fined, caned, or any combination of the three.
For using criminal force, he can be jailed for up to three months, fined up to S$1,500 or both. — TODAY
