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SINGAPORE – A serial abuser, who had been in and out of jail since 2003, relapsed a month after his release last year and, while on bail, sexually abused two 13-year-old girls.
Vaz Clive Hilary Cheng Kiat was released from prison on January 19 last year before outraging the modesty of a 31-year-old woman the following month.
The court heard that he also sexually abused a 24-year-old woman on March 9, 2019.
He was detained three days later and released on bail.
But Cheng couldn’t help but get into trouble as he abused the two teenagers in separate incidents on buses.
The 41-year-old Singaporean pleaded guilty on Monday (September 14) to two counts of sexual abuse involving teenagers.
During sentencing, two other charges for similar crimes related to women will be considered.
On May 25 of last year, one of the teenagers boarded the 190 bus service with her younger sister and her parents near Clarke Quay Central Mall around 8 p.m.
They went to the upper deck of the bus where the girl sat next to her sister, while her parents took the seats across from them.
Cheng boarded the bus about 20 minutes later and sat behind the two girls, although there were many empty seats on the upper deck.
He sexually abused the 13-year-old girl through a gap between the seat and a window.
Despite the fact that her parents were close, the teenager remained silent because she was afraid and did not know how to react.
She told her mother what had happened only after they got off near the Ion Orchard Mall later that night.
Cheng attacked again on August 3 this year, targeting another 13-year-old girl, who was heading home from school.
They were sitting on the top deck of the 43 bus service around 2:45 p.m. that day when he abused her.
The girl yelled at Cheng, who immediately raised both palms and apologized before getting up.
She asked another man sitting nearby for help, but he refused and told her to inform the bus driver.
After the girl told the driver, Cheng denied abusing her when confronted.
The driver stopped at a nearby bus stop near the Asiawide Industrial Building on Pereira Road on Upper Paya Lebar Road, closed the bus doors and told Cheng to take a seat.
When a passenger wanted to get out, the driver opened the doors.
Cheng then took the opportunity to run away and the passenger chased after him.
He grabbed Cheng’s bag during the chase, causing the offender to fall and fracture his kneecap.
The driver alerted the police and Cheng was taken to Tan Tock Seng Hospital for treatment.
On Monday, Deputy Prosecutor Chong Kee En said: “When interviewed … (the girl) said she was ‘very touched’, ‘very traumatized and scared’ and ‘very outraged’.
“She blamed herself for ‘not feeling better when the incident happened, like yelling or fighting back.’ She no longer wanted to take the buses.”
Cheng will be sentenced on September 18.
For each count of sexual abuse of a girl under the age of 14, an offender can be imprisoned for up to five years and fined or punished.
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