Gan Hee Chit pleaded guilty to three charges. - ST
SINGAPORE (The Straits Times/Asia News Network): A 69-year-old man who exposed himself to two secondary school girls at a bus stop and molested a 12-year-old girl in separate incidents has been sentenced to a year in jail.
On Tuesday (March 14), Gan Hee Chit pleaded guilty to three charges, including one count of using criminal force to molest a victim who is below 14 years old.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Teo Siu Ming described Gan as a recalcitrant and brazen sexual offender hiding behind the facade of a harmless senior citizen.
“He targets adolescent girls in their school uniform and molests and sexually harasses them in public places. Such behaviour has no place in our society and must be met with the full force of the law,” she added.
DPP Teo said that on June 27, 2022, two teenagers, aged 16 and 17, were seated at a bus stop after school. The victims cannot be named to protect their identities.
The 17-year-old was trying to open a packet of snacks when Gan offered to help.
While trying to open the packet, Gan asked her personal questions, including her school, her age and where she lived.
Even though multiple buses arrived, Gan did not board any of them and continued to speak to her.
His behaviour made the teens uncomfortable and they wanted to take the next available bus but were afraid he would follow them.
Gan continued to pester the girl and asked if he could be her sugar daddy and if she found him handsome. While he was speaking, both teens saw that his trousers were unzipped.
Gan then briefly moved to the side of the bus stop but approached the teens again.
This time, he told the girl her shoe was untied and when she looked down, she saw his exposed genitals. Her friend also saw them.
Noticing that the friend was quiet, he moved closer to her. Frightened, she phoned her mother for help. Gan fled the scene by boarding a bus. The mother took the teens to lodge a police report.
Separately, on March 24, 2022, a secondary school student, who was 12 at the time, was walking home from school when Gan approached her and asked for directions.
He was holding a walking stick and proceeded to follow her.
He held hands with the teen, who assumed he needed help walking.
When he used his fingers to caress the teen’s hand, she broke free. But he grabbed her hand again, and asked her personal questions.
She later informed her mother about the incident.
