Molestation case against veteran coach concludes

The molestation case against veteran athletics coach Loh Siang Piow concluded yesterday with the 77-year-old being one of two witnesses who took the stand.

The case returned to the district court on Monday, some 18 months after Loh was convicted and sentenced to 21 months' jail, as District Judge Marvin Bay heard additional evidence from a witness who stepped forward after reading news of Loh's conviction.

The witness, former athlete Amelia Monteiro, shared testimony which supported Loh's claim that police investigation officer Goh Teck Heng had told him the names of his accusers in a phone call on July 31, 2016.

Ms Monteiro, 27, said in court on Monday that she was beside Loh when he received the phone call.

But yesterday, Deputy Public Prosecutor Gail Wong pointed out that throughout the trial, which began in 2018, Loh never brought up Ms Monteiro's name.

In response, he said: "There were many people by my side (then)."

DPP Wong then suggested that the additional evidence of Ms Monteiro's presence was "an afterthought" and that she was in fact not present during the call, which drew quick responses of disagreement from Loh.

His lawyer Tan Chee Meng then voiced his objection, pointing out that such suggestions should instead have been put to Ms Monteiro when she took the stand.

DPP Wong went on to highlight differences in Ms Monteiro's and Loh's recollections of the call.

Ms Monteiro said that Loh had uttered the accusers' names as he was on the phone, which Loh's evidence did not reflect.

Loh also gave evidence that he had told Mr Goh he would not go to the police station unless the identities of the accusers were made known to him, but this exchange was not recounted in Ms Monteiro's version of events.

The other witness who took the stand yesterday was Mr Nelson Tan, the event operation manager for national track and field body Singapore Athletics. He was the competition director for the meet that Loh and Ms Monteiro were stated to be at during the 2016 phone call.

Despite the gravity of the case and at-times tense exchanges, there was a light-hearted moment when District Judge Bay asked Loh why he had asked Ms Monteiro to place a bet for the Toto draw shortly after receiving the phone call from the police, as stated in her statutory declaration.

Wearing a sheepish smile, Loh explained: "It's my habit since… Toto has been in place (in 1968), even if it's for $1 or $2.

"Even if I'm not able to, I will ask a friend to buy for me."

He went on to add that he thought little of the instruction to Ms Monteiro, as there was a Singapore Pools outlet conveniently located at Choa Chu Kang Stadium, where the events of 2016 occurred. Ms Monteiro on Monday explained that she included the offbeat detail to illustrate how vivid the events that transpired that morning were in her memory.

After two days in the State Courts, District Judge Bay asked the parties to return for closing submissions and oral arguments on Jan 27.

Loh, a coach of 35 years, was found guilty in June last year of two charges of using criminal force on his victim at Tampines Stadium in order to outrage her modesty. The victim was 18 at the time and cannot be named to protect her identity.

Charges relating to a second female athlete, who was 16 at the time of the alleged offences, were stood down.

Loh remains out on $15,000 bail.