Singapore: Indian national sentenced to jail and caning for molesting woman

A 46-year-old Indian national and Singapore permanent resident was sentenced on Monday to four years in prison and six strokes of the cane for molesting a woman in a shopping mall nursing room.

Ankit Sharma was convicted on a single charge of aggravated outrage of modesty. The court found that on 1 March 2023, he dragged a 31-year-old technology specialist recruiter into a nursing room at Changi City Point mall and molested her.

The victim had met Sharma for the first time that evening after a colleague shared his profile with her.

Deputy public prosecutor Sheldon Lim told the court that while the meeting began with professional discussions at a bar, it soon turned uncomfortable as Sharma initiated sexual conversations and asked intrusive personal questions.

When the woman excused herself to use the washroom, Sharma waited outside for her return. Upon her return, he pulled her into a nearby nursing room. Inside, he kissed her forcefully, restrained her, and made repeated sexual advances despite her clear resistance.

Sharma denied the charges, claiming that the woman had consented and suggested going to the nursing room. His defence argued that she voluntarily engaged with him but became upset after he remarked on her "bad breath". The court rejected this defence, finding Sharma guilty.

The prosecution described the sexual exploitation as 'extremely high' and the intrusion 'intense and prolonged'. For this offence, Sharma faces a sentence of between two and 10 years' imprisonment, plus caning. His lawyer sought a lighter sentence of three to three-and-a-half years with fewer cane strokes.

However, the court accepted the prosecution’s call for a stricter punishment, imposing a sentence of at least four years and six strokes of the cane.