National University of Singapore student, Math tutor, and molester Terence Siow Kay Yian was convicted of one count of molestation and sentenced to 21 months of probation for his crime. According to reports, he molested the woman twice on a train and another time in Serangoon MRT Station in 2018.
Two other counts of molest were also considered in the sentencing, which was done by District Judge Jasvender Kaur. The prosecution urged the judge to jail him for six weeks, especially after he admitted to doing such acts since 2016.
Who is Terence Siow Kay Yian?
According to reports, NUS molester Terence Siow Kay Yian is a 23-year-old Applied Mathematics major enrolled in the National University of Singapore. He was convicted last September 25 for molesting a woman named Karen Siew on the train several times.
A report from the Temasek Times said he is allegedly a Malaysian student studying under a scholarship. He also allegedly worked as a full time mathematics tutor, earning up to $6000 in a month.
Karmen Siew, 28 years old, outed herself as Terence’s victim, and outlined in a Facebook post information regarding her experience with the molester, similar to what Monica Baey did when Nicholas Lim only got a slap on the wrist for taking a video of her in a university shower.
In the post above, she said that Terence had allegedly touched her genital area instead of her buttocks. She was also allegedly offered $5000 in exchange for a lighter sentence. She refused to allow this. In light of the 21 months probation that Terence received, she does not consider the results “light” at all.
She also compared him to Brock Turner, the American college student who molested an unconscious girl behind a dumpster after a party and got a relatively light sentence due to his academic and sport performance.
According to a report from The New Paper, the probation document that was provided for the case mentioned that Terence’s acts were only “minor intrusions” and that his academic performance reflected that he had much potential in life and could achieve a lot. The report also mentioned the molester’s strong family support.
The victim has lamented the sentence, saying that she waited a year for closure, but was unable to get said closure after the alleged leniency.
Minister K Shanmugam addresses public outrage
When reports of the sentence broke, the public expressed outrage, which Law and Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam addressed in a Facebook post.
He said in his Facebook post that he consulted other AGC officers after being surprised by the verdict. The views of the officers aligned with his own views, and they are appealing the case before the courts.
Minister Shanmugam also mentioned that the father of the victim wrote to him, and that he understood how parents felt about the case. He also urged the public not to cast aspersions on the judges in the case, and that if the appeals judges uphold the verdict, then it is not the Courts’ fault that such a result happened.
Peeping tom Nicholas Lim won’t even get a record for his peeping, and this is why that’s messed up.
He also took into consideration that the will of the public can be important, especially if it will cause Parliament to take a look at the laws in place for cases such as these.
Header image from Karen Siew Facebook account
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