Man jailed after going on crime spree while out on bail for molesting two women

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

Jee Chai Chai, who is jobless, was sentenced on Thursday (Aug 29) to 15 months and six weeks' jail.

The 24-year-old 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 a mild intellectual disability but 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 was 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.

As he cycled past, he squeezed her right buttock once before fleeing.

The woman called the police minutes later.

Three days later, he molested a 46-year-old woman near Block 219 Lorong 8 Toa Payoh. Police arrested him on Nov 15 that year.

Jee was then charged in court in March last year and subsequently released on bail.

But on Oct 22 last year, while out on bail, Jee appeared nude 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 from them items such as mobile phones and cash.

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

He then sold the stolen mobile phones to foreign nationals in Little India and used the money for his personal expenses.

She added: "The accused informed that he would not approach legitimate handphone stores to sell the stolen handphones 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 relevant authorities."

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

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