Man rubs crotch against woman in train

Man rubs crotch against woman in train

In four months this year, he exposed himself to at least seven women and girls.

The 31-year-old also brushed his crotch against a woman in a crowded MRT train.

Yesterday, Budiman Shah Mohd Noorel Azman was jailed nine months after pleading guilty to four charges of committing an obscene act in public and one charge of molestation.

Three other charges of committing an obscene act in public and one of insulting the modesty of a woman were taken into consideration in sentencing.

Budiman, who was working as an assistant chef or a cleaner at the time, was on court bail when he committed two of the offences.

The court heard that Budiman, who had a string of similar offences dating back to 2007, had exposed himself to at least seven female victims, some of them as young as 12 to 15 years old.

The first incident happened on May 4 when a girl, 15, and her friend were at a bus stop at Yishun Ring Road at 6.50am.

Court papers said the girl noticed Budiman standing beside her and when she turned to look at him, she saw that his shorts were down.

He was not wearing underwear and exposed himself to her.

The two girls ran towards their school nearby and made a police report two days later.

Block 358, Yishun Ring Road where Budiman Shah Mohd Noorel Azman flashed one of his victims.
Photo: The New Paper

On June 11 at 2.45pm, a 20-year-old woman, accompanied by her maid, was at a bus stop at Yishun Avenue 2 when she saw Budiman approaching her.

She did a double take when she noticed the front of his shorts had been pulled down to his knees, exposing his private parts.

She took photos of him with her mobile phone.

When Budiman saw this, he walked away and the woman reported the incident to the police that day.

He later confessed to the police that he had committed the offence because he had an urge to expose himself and it had helped him relieve stress.

On July 6, Budiman exposed himself to a 12-year-old girl who was cycling with her younger brother at Woodlands Ring Road.

She saw Budiman standing near a lamp post with his pants unzipped, exposing himself.

The siblings left immediately when Budiman made eye contact and started walking towards her.

A police report was made later that day after the girl told her mother about the incident.

A week later, at about 4.30pm on July 13, a 15-year-old saw him touching his private parts at a bus stop near Block 701, Woodlands Drive 40.

On the morning of May 17, Budiman molested a 32-year-old woman while on board a crowded train.

The woman said she had felt something knocking against her several times and initially thought it was because of the jerking motion of the train.

As the sensation became more frequent, she looked at her right forearm and saw Budiman standing beside her. She also noticed a bulge in his crotch area.

She was outraged and took photos of him, but Budiman moved towards the train doors and alighted.

She later made a police report.

Court documents said Budiman had admitted to molesting the woman on the train.

AROUSED

He said he felt aroused when his crotch area accidentally touched the woman's forearm the first time and decided to take advantage of the situation by brushing himself against her.

He added that he wanted the "good feeling" and to feel "shiok" (Singlish for enjoyable).

According to two reports from the Institute of Mental Health, Budiman suffers from exhibitionistic disorder and substance use disorder.

He was not of unsound mind when he committed the offences, and he also has a high risk of re-offending.

In his submissions, Deputy Public Prosecutor Michael Quilindo asked for a global sentence of nine to 10 months.

He told the court that aggravating factors include Budiman's repeated obscene acts and the fact that he had targeted young victims.

In his mitigation, Budiman, who did not have a lawyer, said he has since reflected on and realised his mistakes.

Through a translator, he told the court in Malay: "I'm really remorseful. I had a long talk with my mother and I realised I should change so that I don't disappoint her, and I should change for myself as well."

He also asked for leniency as this would be his 10th time going to jail.

For committing an obscene act in public, Budiman could have been jailed up to three months' jail and fined on each charge.

For making a gesture to insult the modesty of a woman, he could have been jailed up to a year and fined, and for using criminal force to outrage the modesty of a person, he could have been jailed up to two years, fined and/or caned.


This article was first published on Oct 25, 2016.
Get The New Paper for more stories.

This website is best viewed using the latest versions of web browsers.