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Grab driver brought girl, 16, to quiet spot to molest her

A person driving at night.
A person driving at night. (PHOTO: Getty Images)

SINGAPORE — Instead of ferrying a teenage girl home, a private hire driver with Grab brought her to a secluded location where he kissed her and made other sexual advances.

Mohamed Razin Mohamed Omar, 27, was jailed for 15 months on Thursday (20 January) and given three strokes of the cane upon pleading guilty to one count of molest, with another similar count considered for his sentencing.

The 16-year-old victim cannot be named to protect her identity.

She had booked a private-hire vehicle via Grab after midnight on 21 November 2020 to go home from Kang Ching Road. Razin was the driver assigned to the trip. He picked up the girl, who sat at the rear passenger seat, at about 1.27am.

During the trip, Razin persistently asked the girl personal questions about her life, including her age and school. He then sought to get her mobile phone number before asking her if she wanted to “go somewhere”.

The victim did not know what he meant and replied “anything”. Razin drove the car to a secluded and dimly lit location and stopped along Bulim Street.

Razin alighted from the vehicle and asked the victim to get out for a chat. When the victim complied, Razin continued asking her personal questions. A while later, he sat at the rear passenger seat of the car and invited the girl to sit beside him.

He asked the girl if she had kissed any males before and she said no. After hearing this, the man kissed the girl on her lips multiple times, shocking her. She rejected the man’s advance and pushed him away.

Undeterred, Razin grabbed the victim’s hand, unzipped his pants, and forced her to touch him.

After about 10 seconds, the victim managed to pull away and told Razin she wanted to go home. Razin then sent her home. When they reached the intended destination, Razin asked the girl for a “goodbye kiss”, but the victim refused and left.

The victim lodged a police report on 24 November 2020.

The prosecution sought the same sentence that was imposed by the court.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Ong Xin Jie said that Razin had shown premeditation as he had asked the girl many personal questions before bringing her to a secluded location. There was an element of abuse of trust as Razin had been entrusted with the task of ferrying the victim back home at a time when there were no other modes of public transport available.

He had also placed her in a vulnerable position by bringing her to an isolated area where she would have been "at his mercy". During the offence, she had been trapped inside his car, the DPP added.

Razin could have been jailed up to two years, and/or fined, and/or caned, for molest.

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