SINGAPORE — After picking up a drunk woman, a taxi driver decided to stop at the upper deck of a multi-storey car park near her home where he proceeded to molest and hug her before trying to kiss her on the lips.
Ang Wei Leong, 46, was sentenced to 15 months’ jail on Thursday (Sept 14), after pleading guilty to using criminal force to outrage the modesty of his passenger by touching her chest and pulling her face towards him.
Another similar charge where he hugged and tried to kiss her was taken into consideration during sentencing.
The court heard that this was not Ang’s first offence and he is a repeat offender who had been convicted in 2015 for molesting drunk female passengers, and he was sentenced to nine months’ jail for the offences then.
WHAT HAPPENED
On June 30 this year, sometime after 7am, a 28-year-old woman boarded Ang’s taxi at Cuppage Plaza in the Orchard Road shopping belt and sat in the back passenger seat on the left side.
She had consumed alcohol before getting into the taxi and she felt drunk and sleepy.
After she gave Ang a postal code for her drop-off location near Queenstown, he started driving and she dozed off.
As the taxi was reaching the destination, Ang noticed that the woman was asleep and drove to a multi storey car park that was located at Block 53A Strathmore Avenue and parked at the third deck of the car park.
Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Sunil Nair said that Ang then got out of the vehicle, sat in the back seat and began touching the woman’s chest over her clothing.
The woman opened her eyes and was surprised to see Ang next to her.
He then tried to kiss her by pulling her face towards him but she managed to turn away.
Recognising that her condominium block was nearby, the woman got out of the taxi.
Ang told her to wait and asked her where she lived but the woman said that she knew how to get home and walked away.
He did not give up and followed her into a lift at the car park.
While they were in the lift, he hugged the woman and tried to kiss her again.
When the doors to the lift opened, she walked off quickly but Ang followed her until he reached the gate to her condominium.
He then turned back, returned to his taxi and drove away.
Court documents did not state if the woman made a police report or when Ang was arrested.
During court proceedings, when asked by District Judge Lee Lit Cheng if he had anything to say, Ang, who was not represented by a defence counsel, pleaded for leniency.
He said: “I have brought much hurt and shame to my family with the mistakes I’ve done. I want to serve my sentence and start my life afresh.”
Delivering her sentence of 15 months’ jail to Ang, the judge said that in her view, a starting sentence of 12 months would be appropriate because the victim was vulnerable since she was drunk and asleep, and Ang had committed his crimes with audacity and persistence.
She added that he is also a repeat offender who had been convicted in 2015 of crimes of a similar nature, and a stiffer sentence ought to be imposed to deter him from similar conduct.
For using criminal force with the intent to outrage the modesty of a person, Ang could have been jailed up to three years, fined or caned, or given any combination of these punishments.