An act of molestation is also referred to as ‘outrage of modesty‘. According to the Annual Crime Brief 2021 published by the Singapore Police force (SPF), outrage of modesty cases accounted for 42.3% of all sexual crime cases reported in 2021. Section 354 of the Penal Code sets out the definition of outrage of modesty which states that: “Whoever assaults or uses criminal force to any person, intending to outrage or knowing it to be likely that he will thereby outrage the modesty of that person…” Hence, an act that does not content the use of criminal force, such as inappropriate staring will not fall within the act. Section 354 protects the vulnerable group as there are harsher punishments for offences such as taking upskirt photographs and outrage of modesty offences involving victims below 14 years old as per Section 354(2) of the Penal Code. Factors such as the length of time of the molest, part of the victim’s body molested, relationship between victim and offender will be taken into account in determining the sentence. Outrage of modesty’s sentencing can be imprisonment for a term which may extend to 3 years, or with fine, or with caning, or with any combination of such punishments. We’ve worked closely with a client previously charged for an offence under the same Section 354. We gave our best effort and utmost dedication. Even though the outcome was not favourable, the client gave us an excellent testimonial at Singapore Legal Advice as seen below:
“I am very grateful to Ray Louis and team for all the help provided over the past few years. Though the outcome was not favourable to us, I would genuinely like to express my thanks to Ray, as he worked tirelessly throughout the whole case. I would like to extend my thanks Melissa Teoh and Joshua Ang as well who were part of the team as well. Ray’s passion and genuine concern for his clients is remarkable and I would highly recommend Ray and team for your legal needs. Anonymous, 4 March 2022 additional info just fyi not to be published: worked on the case for about 2 years, 13 months’ jail for former part-time taxi driver who molested female passenger” A. 14 March 2022
Recently, in March or April 2024, we had successfully compounded three sexual offenses in less than 2 months (two under Section 354 and one under Section 377BF, of the Penal Code 1871). Needless to say,all the clients were grateful and provided the following reviews:
For more information, please contact our Ray Louis, criminal lawyer in Singapore at +65-90908288.