SINGAPORE: A lieutenant colonel suspended from the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) on Wednesday (Jan 10) admitted to trespassing into the dormitory of a Nanyang Technological University (NTU) student and molesting her.
Neo Aik Chiao, a 47-year-old Singaporean, had also drunkenly offered the foreign student S$1,000 (US$750) to keep him company.
Neo pleaded guilty to one charge each of criminal trespass and molestation, with another charge taken into consideration.
The court heard that the victim, a 21-year-old student, lived on campus in a hostel that was not named to protect her identity.
At about 2am on Nov 13, 2022, she was using her phone in her room when she heard a knock on the door. Before she could react, Neo opened the unlocked door and locked it after he entered the room.
Neo sat on the victim’s bed and told her that he was tired as he had just climbed many flights of stairs. When he asked for a drink, the student told him to go to a water cooler on another floor.
However, Neo continued sitting on her bed.
He asked her questions such as her name, where she was from and what she was studying, as well as for directions to other halls, saying he was looking for a friend.
He also asked if she wanted to earn extra income and if she would accompany him for S$1,000.
The victim rejected him, feeling uncomfortable as Neo was making a sexual proposition.
THE UNWELCOME TOUCHES
Instead of leaving as he was repeatedly told to, Neo touched the victim’s thigh and arm. He also placed his hands on her shoulders and asked if S$1,000 was okay.
Scared and shocked, the victim pushed Neo away and shouted at him to leave.
Neo walked to the door and said he could not open it as it was locked. When the victim took out her phone intending to call a friend, Neo unlocked the door and left.
The victim called campus security and made a police report.
Neo was arrested and later seen at the Institute of Mental Health (IMH). An IMH report indicated that Neo was voluntarily intoxicated by alcohol at the time of the offence.
There could be a partial contributory link to his offence, as well as some impairment of his control in restraining himself from making inappropriate advances, the IMH report stated.
However, Neo was not of unsound mind.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Wong Shiau Yin asked for at least 12 weeks’ jail, noting that the offences took place in the wee hours of the morning, in a student hostel where the victim ought to feel safe.
Neo was also persistent in his attempts to pursue the victim, despite her repeated rejections, and showed an escalation of conduct, said Ms Wong.
DEFENCE ASKS FOR FINE
Defence lawyers Sunil Sudheesan and Joyce Khoo from Quahe Woo & Palmer asked for a fine of around S$10,000 instead.
Mr Sudheesan said his client was “unfortunately affected by alcohol at that time”.
He quoted a previous Chief Justice who said: “Sometimes even the best of us, under the effects of intoxication, behave out of character.”
He said his client had behaved “totally in an out-of-character manner” and that his life had been “totally destroyed as a result”.
Mr Sudheesan said Neo did “something silly” because of his “psychiatric triggers”. His position in the armed forces is “virtually … done after this conviction”, which is in itself “a massive punishment” for Neo, said the lawyer.
NTU was a place with good memories for him, said Mr Sudheesan, adding that Neo’s issues “drove him to a place of nostalgia”.
“For whatever reason he reverted to the behaviour of a university undergraduate, as which we all know, males shouldn’t go to female dorms, but sometimes it happens,” Mr Sudheesan said, to amused murmurs in the public gallery.
The judge adjourned sentencing to a later date.
The Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) said in a statement after Neo was first charged that he had been suspended from all duties with the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF).
MINDEF said it would “carefully assess the eventual findings before deciding on further appropriate actions”, adding that SAF “holds its service personnel to high standards of discipline and integrity”.
“Service personnel who commit offences will be dealt with in accordance with the law. Those convicted of serious offences may be discharged from regular service,” said MINDEF.