SINGAPORE: A foreign exchange student at the National University of Singapore (NUS) had barely arrived in the country when he went to a nightclub with his friends, got drunk and molested a waitress.
Pakistani student Butt Muhammad Abdullah, 22, was fined S$4,000 (US$2,900) on Monday (Sep 25) for one count of outraging the 30-year-old victim’s modesty.
If he cannot pay the fine, he will have to serve four days in jail in default. Butt has already been in custody for four days as he was unable to raise bail.
The court heard that Butt holds a student pass and came to Singapore from Denmark, where he is a permanent resident, on a five-month student exchange programme with NUS.
On Sep 2 this year, he went to Marquee Singapore at Marina Bay Sands for a drinking session with his friends.
At about 2.50am, he decided to leave and head back to his hostel with a friend.
When the victim, a 30-year-old waitress, walked past Butt to clear his table, Butt reached out his hand and touched her buttock once over her clothes.
The victim quickly turned around, confronted him and brought him to security. The police were called and Butt was arrested. His actions were captured by closed-circuit television cameras.
The prosecution sought a fine of S$4,000 to S$5,000, saying Butt had pleaded guilty and had no prior convictions. The CCTV footage also revealed that the touch was “fleeting, over clothing”, and “did not intrude on private parts”, said the prosecutor.
Defence lawyer Cathy Pereira said her client was an exchange student with NUS Business School and had been in Singapore for only a month before the night out.
“It was his first time drinking a large amount of alcohol,” she said.
“He had only drunk once before. This time, he had seven drinks and didn’t realise the effect it had on him. He’s extremely remorseful.”
She said her client had acted on impulse and in the spur of the moment in his intoxicated state.
“After this, he intends to never drink again,” said Ms Pereira.
Since Butt had already spent four nights in custody, she asked for the fine to be calibrated down to S$1,500, with four days’ jail in default if he does not pay the fine.
The judge said he took into consideration the time spent in remand by the accused and calibrated the in-default imprisonment term accordingly.
CNA has contacted NUS for more information on the outcome of Butt’s exchange programme.