59-year-old Tan Soh Kwan, an odd job labourer, was sentenced to 1-year imprisonment on 8 December after molesting female students at Fort Canning Park.
He pleaded guilty to 2 counts of molestation, with 3 other charges being taken into consideration during his sentencing.
He had claimed to have the “Buddha” inside him, and touched the victims on their chests in order to feel the “unhappiness inside them”, according to Channel NewsAsia.
What happened?
on 12 September 2021, a 20-year-old French girl who was a student in Singapore, was at Fort Canning Park, and Tan then introduced himself to her and they had a conversation.
Tan showed her around the park and told her that he had visited Thailand and taught Buddhist teachers, and he then brought her to a bench where he said that he had Buddha inside him.
The two then sat on the bench with their legs crossed while facing each other and Tan then pressed their palms together and started chanting.
Tan said that the girl was having a “love problem” and the girl then started talking to him about it because she did have that problem.
Tan then asked her to follow him to another bench, where they continued their conversation.
Tan then hugged her, touched her neck and eyebrows and put his hand on her chest as he chanted for 2 minutes, before massaging her shoulders and her back.
He then told her to stand up and he then hugged her from behind, touching her backside with his lower body.
The girl then moved away as she felt uncomfortable and told Tan that she was afraid of him, to which Tan told her not to be scared as the Buddha was inside him,
He then hugged the woman again and pressed his chest against hers, saying that he wanted to crack her back, adding that she needs to sit on his lap.
The girl refused and Tan told her to lie down on the bench, where he then touched her face and neck before kissing her, and pressing his palms on her chest over her clothes, belly and leg.
The girl then reported him to the police later that day.
2nd victim
On 13 December, Tan went to Fort Canning park and met 2 Singaporean students.
He introduced himself to one of the 18-year-old girl and offered to show them around the park, as he shared a story of himself learning massage techniques in Thailand, which he claimed to be able to heal their medical ailments.
Tan brought them to a nearby bench where he asked one of the students to sit on his lap, with her back facing him, and he then held her waist and massaged her back upwards.
He used his hands to touch the sides of her chest, before placing his hand across her chest and touching her breasts over her cropped top.
He then told her that she had “women’s problems” and touched her abdomen, which was exposed, without her permission.
He then brought the two students to a hut nearby and molested the same victim again.
The students then reported the incident to the police the next morning at Bukit Merah Neighbourhood Police Centre.