High Court dismisses appeal by SMU student who molested woman in study room

SINGAPORE - A Singapore Management University (SMU) student, who was sentenced to 10 months' jail and ordered to be given three strokes of the cane for molesting a woman on campus, lost his appeal against conviction and sentence on Friday (May 20).

Lee Yan Ru, 25, was convicted last year by a district court for molesting the victim by rubbing himself against her in a study room, after the two met for a study session at about 1am on Jan 8, 2019.

On Friday, High Court judge Chua Lee Ming dismissed Lee's appeal and upheld the lower court's decision on conviction, saying that Lee was "clearly thinking with his private parts" at the time.

Justice Chua rejected defence arguments that Lee believed that the victim had consented to him rubbing against her because there was "growing intimacy" between them as the night progressed.

The judge also dismissed defence arguments that a sentence of six months' jail, without caning, was sufficient to teach Lee a lesson.

Justice Chua granted a request by Lee, who is on bail, to start serving his sentence in a week's time so that he can settle his personal matters.

Lee's lawyer, Mr Thong Chee Kun, told the court that Lee has been suspended from school.

The victim, who was then studying at another university, cannot be named due to a gag order to protect her identity. She was 20 years old when Lee molested her.