Jail for man who reoffended while out on bail

While he was out on bail for molesting two women, a man appeared naked in a female toilet and also committed multiple counts of theft involving more than $12,000.

Jee Chai Chai, who is jobless, was sentenced yesterday to 15 months and six weeks' jail.

The 24-year-old had pleaded guilty on Wednesday to six theft charges involving more than $6,000, as well as one count each of molestation and insulting a woman's modesty. Another 24 charges, mainly for theft, were considered during sentencing.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Goh Sue Jean told the court that Jee has mild intellectual disability but that a report from the Institute of Mental Health noted that it did not have "a significant contributory link" to the offences.

DPP Goh added: "There is no sign that the accused suffers from an impulse control disorder. Furthermore, the accused does not suffer from any other mental disorders. He is not of unsound mind at the time of offences and is fit to plead."

The court heard that a 55-year-old woman was walking near Block 173 Lorong 1 Toa Payoh at around 7.40am on Nov 8, 2017, when Jee approached her from behind while on his bicycle. He squeezed her right buttock once before fleeing. The woman called the police.

Three days later, he molested a 46-year-old woman near Block 219 Lorong 8 Toa Payoh. He was arrested on Nov 15 that year. Jee was charged in court in March last year and subsequently released on bail.

But on Oct 22 last year, while out on bail, Jee appeared naked in a female toilet at MacRitchie Reservoir and was spotted by a woman, who ran out and alerted her husband. The man confronted Jee, but he managed to run away. The victim then alerted the police.

Jee's crime spree did not end there.

Between Dec 13 and 23 last year, he also trespassed into the living quarters of multiple foreign workers and stole items such as mobile phones and cash.

The DPP told District Judge Eddy Tham that Jee removed the SIM cards from the mobile phones and placed them in his own device so that he could access the Internet, send text messages and make calls.

He sold the stolen mobile phones to foreign nationals in Little India.

The DPP added: "The accused informed that he would not approach legitimate cellphone stores to sell the stolen cellphones because they would request his personal details and run checks on the phones to determine if they were stolen property. In this way, the accused hoped to evade detection by the authorities."

For each count of molestation, Jee could have been jailed for up to two years and fined or caned.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on August 30, 2019, with the headline Jail for man who reoffended while out on bail. Subscribe