Eight men aged between 25 and 68 were charged in court yesterday with outrage of modesty in separate incidents between January and June, amid an increase in molestation cases in the first nine months this year.
One of the men, Indian national Dadyala Balwinder Singh, 30, allegedly molested a 37-year-old woman in an Orchard Towers pub at around 3.45pm on Jan 29.
A second Indian national, Jagjit Singh, 31, is accused of molesting two women, aged 24 and 41, in another nightspot at the same shopping centre between 10.50pm and 11.10pm on Aug 2.
The oldest man, Lee Yoke Weng, 68, is said to have outraged the modesty of a 44-year-old woman inside a lift of a Chai Chee block of flats.
Lee is accused of hugging her from behind between 6.30am and 7.30am on July 9.
The other five are: Saha Sweet Kuamar, 25; Ang Boon Chye, 29; Muhammad Ruzaini Johari, 31; Wong Teck Guan, 35; and Affendi Mohamed Noor, 53.
Their cases have been adjourned to next month.
In a media release on Sunday, police said there had been a jump in outrage of modesty cases in the first nine months of this year.
There were 1,168 reported cases from January to September - an increase of 194 cases, or 19.9 per cent, from the same period last year.
The police also said that of the cases in the first nine months of this year, 152 were committed on public transport - a jump of 49 per cent. Seventy-six were committed at public entertainment outlets-an increase of 24.6 per cent over the first nine months of last year.
Police said: "Patrols are conducted in public transport areas by officers from the Public Transport Security Command to project police presence and deter outrage of modesty cases.
"In addition, the police also actively disseminate crime prevention advice to commuters and this is done through posters, videos and crime prevention roadshows in areas such as trains, train stations and bus interchanges."
The police have also advised members of the public to be aware of their surroundings and to keep a lookout for any suspicious individuals, among other things.
Offenders convicted of outrage of modesty can be jailed for up to two years and fined or caned.
