SINGAPORE: Despite being sentenced to jail and caning in 2018 for molestation and trespassing at Nanyang Technological University (NTU), a man returned to the campus and wandered outside the dormitory rooms, trying the doors and entering a room where a student was sleeping with her boyfriend.
Muhammad Shahrin Mohd Shah, 37, was sentenced to 14 months’ jail, a fine of S$2,800 (US$2,080) and a driving ban of two years for the trespass offences along with traffic offences.
The court heard that Shahrin had been sentenced to two years and eight months’ jail and three strokes of the cane in January 2018 for aggravated molestation and for trespassing into a hostel at NTU where he performed an obscene act in front of a student.
The conviction cost Shahrin his job. After his release and at the time of the fresh offences, he worked as a deliveryman.
At around 3.40am on Sep 9, 2022, Shahrin drove his company vehicle to a carpark near NTU and parked there.
He drank two cans of beer and went to the dorms at a nearby hall, feeling “dizzy and high”, said the prosecutor.
He loitered along the common corridors and tried to open the doors of each room, wanting to “look at girls”. He knew from his past offences that the dorms there were meant for female students.
Shahrin was captured on closed-circuit television footage wearing a hooded jacket, long pants and a face mask, using a cloth to avoid direct contact with the door handles he tried.
He reached the first victim’s room where she was sleeping with her boyfriend. The door was unlocked and Shahrin entered the room, but immediately exited.
The sound of the door closing woke up the victim’s boyfriend. The couple left the room to check if someone had entered and saw Shahrin walking along the hallway.
The victim’s boyfriend called the police.
HE RETURNED A SECOND TIME
Shahrin returned to the university at about 3.45am on Dec 1, 2022 and parked his company vehicle near a hall of residence.
He drank two cups of vodka before heading to the hall. He was shirtless and wore long pants and a cap, but carried an umbrella which he held over his head to avoid being captured by the CCTV cameras.
Shahrin again wandered along the common corridor at the hall of residence, entering unlocked rooms. At about 5.35am, he tried to enter a student’s room but could not as it was locked.
The student was woken by the sound of Shahrin trying the door. She quickly exited her room and when she saw Shahrin at the end of the hallway, she shouted at him: “Who are you?”
She gave chase but lost sight of him. She later told a security officer what had happened, and the officer lodged a police report.
A few days later, Shahrin was instructed by an investigating officer to report to a police station.
Anticipating that he was going to be questioned about the NTU offences, Shahrin discarded his cap, umbrella and long pants at a block of flats in Boon Lay. He planned to deny the offences.
Shahrin also admitted to unrelated offences of speeding and driving a van while drunk in October 2022. He was stopped for going over the 70kmh speed limit.
OFFENCES STRIKINGLY SIMILAR: PROSECUTOR
The prosecutor sought a jail term of at least nine to 13 months’ jail, as well as a fine and a driving ban for two years.
She said the present trespass offences bore a “striking similarity” to his previous ones.
Not only did Shahrin intrude into the privacy of university dormitories, where students are entitled to feel safe, the victims were also asleep and in a vulnerable position at the time.
Shahrin’s offences were also clearly premeditated, said the prosecutor. He wore a mask twice and brought an umbrella to shield himself.
He relied on his knowledge of the layout of NTU dorms, as he had previously committed offences against students there.
He also used a towel to touch the door handles as he knew he would otherwise leave DNA evidence that might be used to identify him. It was DNA that led to his arrest in the 2018 case.
MITIGATION
Shahrin was unrepresented. In mitigation, he mumbled: “The only thing I went there (for) was to drink.”
“When I was drinking, I remembered about my past … so it triggered me and I was angry at myself,” he said.
He said he lost his job due to his previous conviction.
“And I was so drunk … and I kept asking myself why do I do such things in the past, and I roam around the uni … and I felt stupid,” Shahrin trailed off.
The judge told him that it was “extremely fortunate” for the students that nothing more happened than him entering a room and attempting to enter another.
“I also agree with the prosecution that there were a number of aggravating factors in this case,” said the judge. “First, you intruded on the privacy of the victims’ dorms at a time they were likely to be asleep and alone. Being a student dormitory, the potential victims were likely to be young ladies, thus you preyed on vulnerable victims.”
The judge said it was “of greatest concern” that this case was “remarkably similar” to his previous conviction.
“Despite that punishment, you do not seem to have learnt your lesson, and you repeated your acts of criminal trespass,” said the judge.
She said that Shahrin had entered or attempted to enter “no less than 11 rooms” in a period of about one-and-a-half hours, “demonstrating persistence and brazenness”.
Therefore, she gave an uplift from his previous sentence for the offence of criminal trespass.