• Chan Eng Hui, 56, was convicted of six charges after a trial
• He exposed his genitals to a woman on various occasions
• He defended himself by saying he slipped on washing powder after a shower, among other things
• In 2009 and 2010, he was fined for committing obscene acts in a public place

SINGAPORE — A 56-year-old man was jailed for 11 weeks and fined S$2,000 on Tuesday (June 15) for repeatedly exposing himself and stroking his genitals in full view of his female tenant in 2018.

Chan Eng Hui was found guilty on four charges of insulting the woman’s modesty, in relation to four occasions of exposing himself, and on two other charges of using criminal force on her by grabbing her hand.

The Singaporean will serve another two weeks behind bars in lieu because he told the court that he cannot pay the fine.

The victim cannot be named due to a court order to protect her identity.

All the offences took place in a flat in Clementi. The victim slept in the same room as Chan's wife, while he slept in a makeshift room next to the main door that was blocked off by a curtain.

In convicting Chan, District Judge Lau Qiuyu rejected his claims that he had not intentionally exposed himself to the victim, and that the wind had blown the toilet door open while he was using it on one occasion.

This was likely a mere afterthought as he could not give a sufficient explanation on it, the judge ruled.

In general, he was occasionally evasive and his testimony was inconsistent, she added.

For one charge, he had claimed that he slipped on washing powder on the floor after a shower and hit himself after something caught on his towel, causing him pain and leading him to stroke himself.

He had not told this to the police in statements and this assertion was not put to the victim during the trial, District Judge Lau noted.

Chan also claimed that he gave the victim a hefty rent discount in exchange for sexual acts with her that he did not even want, saying he found her “revolting”.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Krystle Chiang told the court that Chan was fined in 2009 and 2010 for committing obscene acts in a public place.

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

For using criminal force, he could have been fined up to S$1,500 or jailed up to three months, or both.

WHAT HAPPENED

The victim testified that in May 2018, Chan had suddenly held her hand and asked her to eat. She told him “no” and said that she did not consent to this.

Later in the same month, he grabbed her hand when she walked past the sofa in the living room where he was sitting. He told her that he wanted to speak to her, but she flung his hand away and told him not to touch her unnecessarily.

Around June to July 2018, she testified that she had walked out of the kitchen when she saw him standing in the toilet, completely naked and stroking himself. They made eye contact and she asked what he was doing.

Apart from his wife, who was sleeping in another room, no one else was in the flat.

Within a week of this incident, the victim was washing something in the kitchen when she turned around and found him completely undressed.

She scolded him but he only smiled and told her that he wanted to take a shower in the toilet.

After the other two occasions of exposure, which happened between August and October 2018, the woman confided in some friends and eventually reported the matter on Dec 23 that year.

She explained that she held off on reporting it because she was concerned that it would affect her work permit.

A week after making the police report, Chan knocked on her room door and asked to talk to her while no one else was home. She then called the police and tried her best to avoid meeting him.

She also recorded a conversation with him, where she asked why he had appeared naked behind her. He said: “You have not agreed to me for so long… When you don’t give the fish to the cat, what do you think it will feel? I am a man, you think I am made of wood, is it?”

He also apologised for not being able to control himself, while she denied ever agreeing to be in a romantic relationship with him.