Jail, cane for man who molested woman in 2008 robbery, fled S'pore for 13 years

When Ong Teng Heng and an accomplice broke into homes in 2008 to steal valuables, he took the chance to tie up a pair of siblings and molested one of them while the other was restrained.

Ong had been on the run for 13 years and was arrested when he returned to Singapore last year.

Yesterday, Ong, now 44, was jailed for six years with nine strokes of the cane after pleading guilty to housebreaking, theft and outrage of modesty with criminal force.

His accomplice Eddie Chua, then 26, was given four years' jail and six strokes of the cane in 2008 for housebreaking.

Details of the victims and their residence cannot be mentioned due to a gag order.

The incident happened on March 3, 2008, when Ong had planned to steal from homes to pay off money that he and Chua owed to loan sharks.

Chua agreed to join in and entered the first house at 3pm by forcing open a door.

They realised the house was connected by a platform to the second floor of a neighbouring unit and climbed into the next home.

There they found gold chains, watches, cash and other items worth $3,700 in total, said deputy public prosecutors Suhas Malhotra and Janice See.

They panicked after hearing a male voice. Chua fled the scene while Ong waited in the house and threatened a male occupant with the penknife.

A struggle ensued. As the man tried to grab the penknife in Ong's hand, the pair stumbled into the room belonging to the man's sister.

Ong pinned the man down and saw that he was bleeding.

He instructed the man not to move and told the woman to hand over some tape.

She complied as she was scared Ong would hurt her brother. Ong taped up both victims' hands behind their backs and sat them down on the floor.

After searching the master bedroom, which had already been ransacked, he took the brother into a toilet outside the room and taped him to a shower pole, warning him not to shout.

Ong shut the door and turned to the woman, who was too afraid to scream or run in case her brother was hurt.

He then pushed her into the bedroom toilet and groped her.

He told her he was poor and needed money and they could have been friends. He asked for her age and if she was still in school.

He then guided her to the bed and molested her again.

The DPPs said: "(She) told the accused to stop what he was doing and reminded him that people will find out about this. Her hands remained tied behind her back for the entire duration."

He eventually stopped and left. The woman waited till she could no longer hear any sound in the room before she dressed herself and searched for her brother.

They found that Ong had fled, and the back door and metal gate were opened. They also discovered a hole in the awning at the back of the home.

Ong left Singapore the following day and returned from Thailand on May 25 last year, when he was arrested. Court documents did not say why he returned.

Seeking six years' jail and nine strokes of the cane, the prosecution said Ong's culpability was greater than Chua's as he had conceived the heist.

He also committed highly intrusive acts on the woman in the course of a home invasion.

The DPPs noted that Ong pleaded guilty right away, sparing the victim the ordeal of testifying in court 14 years after the incident.

Those who commit sexual assault can be jailed up to three years, with a fine and caning.

The penalty for robbery is between two and 10 years' jail and at least six strokes of the cane.