SINGAPORE — The 78-year-old man had gone to the nursing home to visit his wife when he noticed the woman, a fellow resident, in a wheelchair.

Seeing a cockroach flying around her chest area, he went to flick it away. That was when he realised that she was not wearing a bra.

Lau Loi Fatt then slipped his hand inside the 37-year-old woman’s blouse and fondled her.

On Monday (16 September), Lau was jailed eight months, having pleaded guilty to one charge of molest.

The victim, who cannot be named, was born with cerebral palsy. She has been living at the nursing home in the east of Singapore since February 2018.

Cerebral palsy is a disease that affects mobility and motor coordination.

The facts of the case

On 22 January this year, at about 10.30am, the woman was seated facing the television at the day space area, alongside 30 other residents undergoing therapy exercises.

Lau was also in the same area with his wife, who has twice suffered a stroke. He observed that the victim looked "unwell" and had her hands bandaged.

Some ten minutes later, Lau approached the woman as he saw a cockroach around her and went to flick it away. He then saw that her blouse was loose and her breasts partially exposed. He also noticed she was not wearing a bra.

He then inserted his hand inside her clothing and molested her for about five to 10 seconds.

A therapy assistant noticed Lau's proximity to the victim and told a nursing aide. When the aide approached the pair, she noticed Lau's hand moving under the victim's clothing.

Lau did not reply when asked what he was doing. He later left the nursing home. The nursing aide reported the incident to a senior staff nurse and the matter was escalated to the management, which made a police report the next day.

CCTV footage captured Lau standing close to the victim.

In mitigation, Lau's pro bono lawyer Shaneet Nityanand Rai, assigned from the Criminal Legal Aid Scheme, said that his client had committed the offence on the spur of the moment.

His client was remorseful, and pleaded guilty to his single charge at the earliest opportunity, the lawyer told the court.

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