SINGAPORE - A security guard with Outward Bound Singapore (OBS) was jailed for five weeks on Monday (Nov 7) for entering the female toilet to insult the modesty of three teenage girls and intruding into their privacy.
S. Ganesh Kumaar, 39, who faced six charges, pleaded guilty to one charge of criminal trespass and two charges of insulting the modesty of a 14-year-old victim.
The court heard that the three 14-year-olds, all classmates, were at OBS at Pulau Ubin for a camp from Jan 18 to 21.
On Jan 20, Kumaar saw them going to the female toilet for a shower and desired to peep at them. He entered the toilet via the rear entrance, hoping that the victims would not see him.
As he entered the toilet, he intruded into the victim's privacy when he saw her stepping out of a toilet cubicle with only a towel wrapped around her.
Shocked, the girl quickly ran back into the cubicle.
After Kumaar realised that he had been spotted, he quickly left the toilet, and waited outside for a few minutes.
Subsequently, he entered the toilet again because he felt aroused after seeing the victim.
This time, he saw that all the shower stalls had closed doors that were locked. He then lay down on the floor in front of the cubicles, and intruded again into the privacy of the same victim by staring at her legs. He then unzipped his pants and did an obscene act.
He noticed that one of the girls in the shower cubicles had finished showering. He quickly zipped up and went to hide in a cubicle. He peeped out from inside the cubicle to check if there was any way for him to escape. When he realised he could not, he left, and concocted a story that he was inside to check faulty toilet fittings.
Later, the girls reported the incident to their instructors. The police was called.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Sia Jiazheng told District Judge Luke Tan that Kumaar committed the offence while carrying out his duty as a security guard. He was tasked with protecting the OBS compound.
He said Kumaar had made use of the free rein and access he was given to commit the offence. He also said Kumaar had repeated the offence, despite having been caught by one of the victims the first time.
Kumaar's lawyer Ranjit Singh said in mitigation that his client, who has two young children, has a low intellect.
The maximum penalty for criminal trespass is three months' jail and a $1,500 fine; and for insulting the modesty of a woman, one year's jail and a fine.
Correction note: An earlier version of the story referred to OBS as Outward Bound School instead of Outward Bound Singapore. We are sorry for the error.
