by Elena Chong
A MAN dubbed the heartbeat molester was sentenced to 10 years'
jail and 21 strokes of the cane on Friday for molesting young girls
over a span of 11 years.
Described as one of the worst serial offenders, Martin Tan Chye
Guan, 48, pleaded guilty to eight of 28 charges of outrage of
modesty.
He has been diagnosed a paedophile by the Institute of Mental
Health.
In all, 28 victims aged seven to 12 were molested by him in
various parts of Singapore between Feb 1, 1999 and Oct 8 last year.
Tan, then a courier and part-time property agent, was arrested in
November last year following a tip-off from a member of the public
after viewing a CCTV image released through the media for
information.
The court heard that he would pretend to look for directions or
lie that he was looking for a friend's unit, and lure the victims
to the staircase landing to molest them. Deputy Public Prosecutor
Agnes Chan told the court that he would violate the private parts
of the victims under the pretext of asking them to feel his
heartbeat or under the guise of fortune-telling by reading their
palms.
She had urged District Judge Roy Neighbour to impose a
substantial sentence with caning in view of the aggravating
factors. She said Tan was clearly a risk and danger to society and
needed to be put off circulation for a long time to safeguard the
safety and interests of the public.
