Mohamed Ardlee Iriandee Mohamed Sanip, 40, pleaded guilty at the State Courts on Monday (23 March) to one charge of molesting while restraining a 10-year-old girl. (PHOTO: Getty Images)

SINGAPORE — Looking to satisfy his urge to molest young girls, a man researched primary school operating hours and how to grab his victims from behind.

The Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) regular then left his workplace at the SAFTI Military Institute and drove to a carpark to scout for a target.

When Mohamed Ardlee Iriandee Mohamed Sanip spotted a 10-year-old girl heading towards a lift landing, he followed her to the second floor. Still dressed in his work attire, the 40-year-old man then pushed the girl towards a staircase after she exited the lift and then molested her.

Ardlee pleaded guilty at the State Courts on Monday (23 March) to one charge of molesting while restraining a minor under the age of 14. He had earlier been found guilty of molesting another eight-year-old girl in January 2018.

Interest spurred by online material

Ardlee developed a sexual interest in young girls sometime in December 2017 after reading about pedophilic behaviour online and news articles about sexual offences.

He would then search the internet for nude pictures of young girls and would occasionally masturbate to them. His internet browser search history on his two mobile phones showed that he looked up photographs and videos of young nude models, as well as voyeuristic videos taken in changing rooms and public showers.

Ardlee was also found to have looked up primary school timings, as well as how to muffle noise and cover people’s mouths. According to court documents, he also considered waiting near primary schools for opportunities to molest young girls.

He targeted his eight-year-old victim in this manner and ambushed her at the sixth floor of a HDB block. After restraining and molesting her at a staircase, he then ran away.

Months later, Ardlee assaulted the 10-year-old victim after failing to contain his urges.

At about 4pm on 21 May 2018, Ardlee drove from his workplace at Upper Jurong Road to a carpark near a Choa Chu Kang Crescent HDB block to search for a suitable victim. While seated in his car, he spotted the 10-year-old girl walking back from school and began following her.

After observing the girl entering the lift at her block alone, Ardlee then rushed up the stairs to the second floor. Catching the girl as she exited the lift, he pushed her towards the nearby staircase landing.

As the girl screamed, Ardless covered her mouth with his hand. The girl continued to scream and struggle, prompting Ardlee to release her and flee down the staircase. He then returned to his workplace.

When the girl returned home, she told her aunt about the incident. A police report was lodged by the girl’s cousins, who tried searching for Ardlee.

The police eventually managed to do track down Ardlee. CCTV footage played in court showed Ardlee heading up the staircase and fleeing down it shortly after while in his army attire. He was arrested on 22 May 2018.

For a period following the incident, the girl feared walking home from school alone and experienced flashbacks. She is now accompanied home by a classmate.

Ardlee will return to court on 20 April for sentencing. His lawyer, Mohamed Muzammil Mohamed, told the court that his client has been undergoing psychiatric treatment at the Institute of Mental Health and is awaiting a report.

For molesting a person under the age of 14 while causing wrongful restraint, Ardlee faces a jail term of between three and 10 years, along with caning, for each count.

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