Repeat offender known to touch women's feet charged with molestation

Source: The Straits Times
Author: Shaffiq Alkhatib

SINGAPORE - A serial molester, known to touch women's feet for sexual arousal, has been hauled to court after he allegedly reoffended and committed a similar offence on April 18 while he was under a remission order.

As part of the order, Tan Boon Hwee, who was sentenced to 13 months and four weeks' jail in July 2023 over multiple counts of molestation, was supposed to keep himself out of trouble from Jan 23, 2024, to June 11, 2024.

Instead, he allegedly molested a 35-year-old woman by touching her feet in Ang Mo Kio Avenue 3 at around 1pm on April 18.

Tan, 36, was handed a molestation charge on April 24 and his case has been adjourned to May 8.

He was earlier fined $8,000 in 2019 and sent to jail in 2022 for molesting multiple women by touching their feet.

He did not learn his lesson after his earlier release.

Among other things, he targeted an 18-year-old girl as she was walking to a bus stop in Ang Mo Kio Avenue 4 at around 2.20pm on July 8, 2022.

Claiming to be doing charity work for a "barefoot organisation", Tan approached her and asked if he could photograph her feet to purportedly support its cause.

He tickled her feet when she agreed and the police were alerted soon after.

For molestation, an offender can be jailed for up to three years, fined, caned or receive any combination of such punishments.