SINGAPORE – A man climbed into his neighbour’s condominium unit through the kitchen balcony and molested a woman while she was sleeping in her bedroom.
When she woke up, the man urinated in fear, pleading with her and her husband not to call the police.
On March 5, Erakkodan Abinraj, 26, was handed a jail term of seven months after pleading guilty to one count of molestation. Another count of housebreaking was considered during sentencing.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Kathy Chu said the Indian national had been living next door to the 36-year-old victim for around a year. He lived there with five of his colleagues and knew the victim as he had bumped into her before.
On Sept 22, 2024, at around 4.50am, Erakkodan entered the woman’s unit through the kitchen balcony, which was connected her unit and his.
As it was dark, Erakkodan turned on the torchlight on his mobile phone and wandered around the unit, looking at the woman’s family photos.
He then entered the master bedroom where the woman was asleep with her husband. Their daughter was asleep in another room.
Erakkodan then touched the woman’s underwear and pulled it downwards, wanting to remove it.
DPP Chu said: “The victim awoke 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.”
The woman screamed, waking her husband, who confronted Erakkodan and asked him to leave the room.
As Erakkodan walked out of the room, he urinated in fear and pleaded with them not to call the police.
The woman called the police and Erakkodan remained in the victim’s home until the police arrived. He admitted to the couple that he had entered the unit through the kitchen balcony.
However, he denied touching the woman and lied that his mobile phone had dropped on her and woke her up.
Seeking six to eight months’ jail, DPP Chu said: “The offence took place in the victim’s bedroom, in the middle of the night. The accused invaded the sanctity of the home.”
The prosecutor added that the victim was vulnerable as she was asleep and that Erakkodan caused further inconvenience to the victim and her family by urinating in her home.
If convicted of molestation, an offender can be jailed for up to three years, fined and caned.
- Nadine Chua is a crime and court journalist at The Straits Times.
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