SINGAPORE — When Kang Ning saw a woman resting at a transit area in Changi Airport, he felt the urge to take photographs of her underwear. 

But as her legs were crossed, he brushed his hand across the woman’s bare thigh instead. 

The 29-year-old woman, who was four months pregnant, woke up shocked and fled when Kang tried to talk to her — but he targeted her again, molesting her the very next day. 

The woman, an employee of travel retailer DFS, cannot be named due to a court order to protect her identity.

Kang, 29, was sentenced to five weeks’ jail and a fine of S$2,000 in a district court on Thursday (Oct 10). He pleaded guilty to molestation, insulting a woman’s modesty and illegally entering a protected place.

The court heard that on April 11 this year, when he was employed as a technician for Beumer Group Singapore, a supplier of automated material handling systems, and he was working within Changi Airport, he approached the woman while her eyes were closed. 

The woman was feeling unwell and decided to rest on a sofa near the DFS store in the transit area at Terminal 3.

Kang, who was about to begin work, took several photographs of her and brushed her thigh.

Court documents showed that he targeted her once more the next day while she was resting, by lifting a scarf covering her thighs and pulling up her skirt slightly. 

This time, she made a police report with the help of a security officer working in DFS. 

When he was arrested, the authorities found a video on Kang's mobile phone that was shot on an MRT train on the afternoon of Oct 25 last year. 

While Kang was on the train, he covertly filmed a woman he was attracted to for one-and-a-half minutes using his phone. 

At several points, he focused on her exposed thighs and zoomed into the area near her inner thighs and an opening under her skirt.

However, the video was not of a quality high enough to capture her underwear, Deputy Public Prosecutor Dora Tay told the court.

For the two molestation incidents involving the DFS employee this year, they happened when Kang was staying over in restricted areas of three airport terminals while he was not officially working. 

He did so 17 times from April 1 to 12 to have meals and sleep because he wanted to save money on renting a place.

He had been issued a seasonal airport pass by Changi Airport Group for work purposes.

Kang, who did not have a lawyer, told the court in mitigation that he has been unable to tell his parents back in China about his court case due to their poor health.

“I realise my mistake. I plead with the court to take into consideration that this is my first offence and impose a lenient sentence,” he added through an interpreter.

For molesting the victim, he could have been jailed up to two years, fined, caned, or any combination of the three.

For insulting a woman’s modesty, he could have been jailed up to a year, or fined, or both.

And for unauthorised entry into a protected place, he could have been jailed up to two years, or fined up to S$20,000, or both.