SINGAPORE: A 26-year-old man who climbed into his neighbour’s condominium unit and molested a woman was sentenced to seven months’ jail on Wednesday (Mar 5).
Erakkodan Abinraj pleaded guilty to one count of molest, with one count of housebreaking taken into consideration for his sentencing.
The court heard that the Indian national had been staying next door to the victim for about a year with five colleagues. He knew the victim as he had bumped into her several times before.
At about 4.50am on Sep 22, 2024, he entered his neighbour’s unit through the kitchen balcony which connected his unit to his neighbour’s. As it was dark, Erakkodan turned on his mobile phone torchlight to see better. He wandered around the house before entering the master bedroom.
At the time, the victim – a 36-year-old woman who cannot be named due to a gag order – was asleep in the master bedroom with her husband, while her daughter was in another room.
He saw the victim asleep on the bed and proceeded to touch the victim’s underwear. The victim woke up as she felt someone touching her.
“She turned to her left to look at her husband and saw that he was sleeping. Puzzled, she turned to her right and saw the accused holding up his handphone with the torchlight on,” said Deputy Public Prosecutor Kathy Chu.
The victim screamed, waking her husband. He confronted Erakkodan and asked him to leave the room. The 26-year-old then urinated in fear and pleaded with him not to call the police, the court heard.
The victim called the police, and Erakkodan stayed in the unit until the police arrived, before admitting to trespassing. However, he denied touching the victim and lied that his handphone had dropped on the victim, claiming that that was what had woken her up.
The prosecution sought between six and eight months’ jail. Ms Chu said it was aggravating that Erakkodan had broken into the victim’s home, which is a “private place” where the victim should expect to feel safe. She added that the victim was also vulnerable because she was asleep.
Ms Chu said that Erakkodan had caused further inconvenience by urinating in her unit.
Erakkodan’s lawyer Ambalavanar Ravidass from Regal Law asked for seven months’ jail, saying that his client comes from a humble family in India.
He added that Erakkodan’s grandmother had died by suicide, suggesting that his client had been mentally disturbed during the time of the offences.
In response, Ms Chu said an Institute of Mental Health report had not diagnosed Erakkodan with any mental condition. Mr Ambalavanar accepted that his client had no mental condition, but had been undergoing “normal depression” that anyone would go through given the circumstances.
For molest, Erakkodan could have been jailed for up to three years, fined and caned.