 SAF officer fined for indecent exposure
A SINGAPORE Armed Forces officer was spared a jail sentence when he was fined a total of $2,500 on Thursday for criminal trespass and exposing himself to female students at a school.
Ruling out a jail sentence, District Judge Lee Poh Choo said Ong Chun Kiat, 27, a captain, deserved a second chance. She said she had considered the rather detailed medical report and that he was unlikely to repeat such offensive behaviour.
Further, he had benefited from counselling sessions.
Ong had pleaded guilty to three charges - trespassing at the school and exposing himself to two different girls while he was in the male toilet on Aug 12, 2005.
Two other similar charges were taken into consideration during sentencing.
The court heard that he drove to the school that afternoon when he had no reason to be there.
He then proceeded to the male toilet, stood in front of the first urinal with his trousers and underwear pulled down to his thighs.
A schoolgirl was on her way to the female toilet opposite when she saw his exposed buttocks. She was shocked and quickly walked into the female toilet.
A few minutes later, another girl emerged from the toilet and Ong turned around and exposed himself. The girl walked back into the toilet.
Ong's lawyer, Mr Gregory Vijayendran, said his client had committed the offences when he was suffering from depression over a failed relationship. He said Ong had gone through many counselling sessions and would continue to do so.
Pleading for a non-jail sentence, he said the risk of a recurrence had been practically eliminated, and his client had suffered enough.
Among those present on Thursday were his parents, friends and colleagues. His mother shed tears of joy and relief and shook the lawyer's hand outside the court.
The maximum penalty for criminal trespass is three months' jail or a $500 fine or both. For insulting modesty, the punishment is up to one year's jail or a fine or both.  To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. | 
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