SMU student allegedly molested woman in campus study room

The alleged victim said she met the accused on Instagram and they had mutual friends. She also said that she had gone to Singapore Management University to study with him. PHOTO: ST FILE

SINGAPORE - A Singapore Management University (SMU) student allegedly molested a 21-year-old woman on campus early this year, a district court heard last Friday (Dec 27).

Lee Yan Ru, 23, who now faces a molestation charge, allegedly rubbed his exposed genitals against her chest in a study room at SMU's School of Economics and Social Sciences at around 6.30am on Jan 8.

The Straits Times reported later that month that the alleged victim was an undergraduate doing psychological science and was not an SMU student.

The woman, who cannot be named due to a gag order, had told ST that she met Lee on social media platform Instagram and they had mutual friends.

She also said that she had gone to SMU to study with him.

The police were later alerted and officers arrested the Singaporean.

In an earlier statement, the university had said that case was being taken "very seriously".

An SMU spokesman also said that it had embarked on its own internal inquiry.

Lee is one of several tertiary students who have been hauled to court this year over alleged offences committed on campus.

In one case, National University of Singapore student Luah Chao Zhi, 23, currently faces five counts of insulting a woman's modesty.

The Singaporean is accused of shooting upskirt videos of women on campus and at Haw Par Villa MRT station on Aug 23.

Luah is also said to have intruded into the privacy of 31 unidentified women by capturing videos of them at various locations islandwide between April and August this year.

He has been placed on a mandatory leave of absence since September.

Separately, a teenage Nanyang Technological University student has been expelled after he allegedly used his mobile phone to record a video of a woman showering on campus.

Chinese national Han Shiyu, 17, is accused of insulting the 20-year-old woman's modesty on Aug 12 this year.

The cases involving Luah and Han are still pending.

On Friday, Lee was offered bail of $5,000 and his case has been adjourned to Jan 20 next year.

If convicted of molestation, he can be jailed for up to two years and fined or caned.

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