A private driving instructor in Singapore has been sentenced to six months in jail for molesting his 25-year-old student during a lesson in 2018. Soh Guan Hup, 61, had claimed trial and was found guilty of outraging the woman's modesty while teaching her how to park. Soh intends to appeal against the conviction.

The victim had taken 24 manual driving lessons from Soh in 2017 and 2018, boarding his car near Bukit Gombak MRT Station and taking lessons in the Bukit Batok Driving Centre area. According to the prosecution, Soh made inappropriate jokes during the lessons, including a remark about being able to rape the victim in a quiet and dark area.

During a lesson on Mar 3, 2018, Soh instructed the victim on how to park while they were on a side road in Choa Chu Kang. She felt a nudging sensation on the left side of her breast and described it as a finger pressing against her breast repeatedly. The victim was so affected that she was unable to park the car, and Soh had to grab the steering wheel. She later informed her then-boyfriend about the incident and eventually reported it to the police in December 2020 after confiding in a friend.

In his defence, Soh denied touching the victim, claiming any physical contact would have been accidental. He said that he taught over 1,200 students in his 30-year career and had few complaints. The prosecutor sought five to six months' jail, while the defence lawyer asked for not more than five months, arguing that there was no evidence of substantial physical or psychological harm to the victim.

The judge agreed with the prosecution that Soh had abused the trust placed in him as the victim's driving instructor and molested the victim on the pretext of teaching her to park a car, as though he was pointing at the side view mirror.

Source: Channel News Asia