A MAN dubbed the heartbeat molester was sentenced to 10 years' jail and 21 strokes of the cane on Friday for molesting young girls over a span of 11 years.
Described as one of the worst serial offenders, Martin Tan Chye Guan, 48, pleaded guilty to eight of 28 charges of outrage of modesty.
He has been diagnosed a paedophile by the Institute of Mental Health.
In all, 28 victims aged seven to 12 were molested by him in various parts of Singapore between Feb 1, 1999 and Oct 8 last year. Tan, then a courier and part-time property agent, was arrested in November last year following a tip-off from a member of the public after viewing a CCTV image released through the media for information.
The court heard that he would pretend to look for directions or lie that he was looking for a friend's unit, and lure the victims to the staircase landing to molest them. Deputy Public Prosecutor Agnes Chan told the court that he would violate the private parts of the victims under the pretext of asking them to feel his heartbeat or under the guise of fortune-telling by reading their palms.
She had urged District Judge Roy Neighbour to impose a substantial sentence with caning in view of the aggravating factors. She said Tan was clearly a risk and danger to society and needed to be put off circulation for a long time to safeguard the safety and interests of the public.
Source: ST Online
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