SINGAPORE, April 22 — A 56-year-old hospital cleaner was sentenced to two years and two months’ jail on Friday (April 22) for molesting a paralysed patient, who was only able to confirm later that she had been groped under her pyjamas by blinking to a nurse.
Ng Yee, a Singaporean, was caught red-handed by the nurse, who was on duty at the time.
He had pleaded guilty last month to a single charge of outraging the modesty of a vulnerable person.
The victim and the hospital where the incident happened cannot be named due to a court order to protect her identity.
District Judge Kessler Soh noted that the degree of sexual intrusion was high, as Ng had groped the victim under her pyjama top with skin-on-skin contact.
His act was not a fleeting touch and lasted for 15 seconds, the judge said. The victim was unable to resist or seek help because she is completely paralysed, functionally dependent and non-communicative, he added.
While Ng suffered from schizophrenia, District Judge Soh said he placed no weight on his condition as no causal link had been established between his mental illness and his conduct.
His jail sentence includes two months’ jail in lieu of four strokes of the cane. Those aged 50 or above cannot be caned under Singapore law.
What happened
The court previously heard that Ng molested the patient on the afternoon of April 27 last year. He had just finished mopping the floor when he saw the victim lying in her bed with the top two buttons of her pyjama top unbuttoned.
Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Ng Jun Chong told the court that Ng “started to think about touching the victim’s breast”.
He then molested the victim for about 15 seconds.
While he was doing so, a nurse was at a nearby bed helping another patient change her diapers with the cubicle curtains drawn.
When she drew the curtains open, the nurse then saw Ng molesting the victim. She shouted at him and asked him what he was doing.
This led Ng to withdraw his hand without saying anything. He then left the ward to continue his work.
The nurse, who was a Myanmarese, asked the victim if she was okay and whether Ng had touched her breast.
The victim responded by blinking three times, which the nurse understood to mean “yes” because it was their method of communication.
She then buttoned up the victim’s pyjamas and told her supervisor what had happened.
There were seven patients and two staff members in the ward at the time.
The nurse proceeded to file a police report the next day.
Those convicted of outrage of modesty can be jailed for up to two years, fined, caned, or receive any combination of the three.
However, those convicted under the provision of crimes against vulnerable persons can face up to twice the maximum punishment. — TODAY
