A 60-year-old man from Peru molested a 13-year-old girl on the MRT after using a fake excuse to ask her for directions. The man, Pacheco, had approached the girl at Dhoby Ghaut MRT station on May 18, claiming he needed help finding his way to the Downtown Line.
The girl was actually heading to Sengkang via the North East Line and explained how to get to the Downtown Line. But when the train arrived, Pacheco suddenly grabbed her hand and pulled her into the train cabin with him.
He made her sit beside him and placed his left hand on her thigh as he continued to chat. At Little India station, he tried to pull her along with him again, asking her to follow him to a restaurant. The girl refused, and only then did Pacheco let go of her hand and leave the train.
Shaken, the girl later told her sister what had happened after she reached Sengkang. Their father lodged a police report.
Pacheco, who was in Singapore for a two-week visit from Malaysia, where he worked as a chef, was arrested and charged with five offences, including outrage of modesty and theft. He pleaded guilty to three charges and was sentenced to 16 weeks’ jail.
