SINGAPORE: While working at the Woodlands Checkpoint, a man molested an 18-year-old girl as he assisted her in filling out her SG Arrival Card.
Mohamed Rashid Ahmad was sentenced to five months’ jail on Friday (Mar 28) after pleading guilty to one charge of using criminal force with the intent of outraging a person’s modesty.
The court heard that at the time of the offence, the 70-year-old was an employee of Forte Employment Services and was deployed as a customer service officer at Woodlands Checkpoint.
As part of his employment, he was stationed at an area designated for passengers to fill out their arrival cards and was tasked to assist passengers with that.
On Jul 26, 2024, sometime before 11.10am, the victim – who cannot be named due to a gag order – arrived at the checkpoint together with her mother and aunt.
They had travelled to Singapore with the intention of having a day trip before leaving for Malaysia on the same day.
However, when they arrived at the checkpoint, only the victim’s mother and aunt were able to obtain immigration clearance using the automated lanes at the passenger halls.
Facing issues with her arrival card, the victim went to fill out a new arrival card and was approached by Rashid, who offered his assistance.
The victim – a Chinese national – handed her passport to him, which he took and scanned using a tablet.
He then asked her to verify that her particulars were correct and instructed her to fill out her arrival card by keying in the required details into the tablet.
As she filled out her card, Rashid used the back of his hand to tap the victim’s groin.
Thinking that it was unintentional, she initially ignored his actions.
However, when he continued to touch her multiple times in the same region, she began to feel uncomfortable and took a step backwards to create some distance between herself and the accused.
Rashid then placed his hand behind her back and pushed her forward, bringing her closer to the tablet and to him, before continuing to tap her in the same region.
The court heard that the victim felt extremely uncomfortable and fearful because of his actions.
When she finished filling out her arrival card after about 15 minutes, she left the area and recounted the incident to her mother who proceeded to inform an officer at the checkpoint.
Rashid was subsequently identified and arrested.
On Friday, Deputy Public Prosecutor Daniel Ong sought a sentence of four to five months’ jail.
“There was some degree of an abuse of position by the accused, as he was employed as a customer service officer deployed at Woodlands Checkpoint and was acting as a staff with the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority,” said Mr Ong in his submission, adding that this afforded him the opportunity to be in close proximity to the victim.
“The accused exploited this opportunity, and the victim’s reliance on him for assistance, to commit the offence. It is also aggravating that the accused pushed the victim closer towards him after she tried to put some distance between herself and him.”
For using criminal force with the intent of outraging a person’s modesty, Rashid could have been jailed for up to three years and/or fined, and/or caned.
