by Elena Chong
A YOUNG man was sentenced to a total of 4 1/2 years' jail and 12
strokes of the cane on Tuesday for molesting a 15-year-old girl and
slashing a woman with a razor.
Christopher Neo Yong Heng, 23, had slashed 23-year-old operator
Lu Fang Fang on her left wrist and fingers with a razor at the void
deck at Jalan Rumah Tinggi last November while on court bail for
molesting the girl.
The unemployed man came to know the teenl on-line at social
networking site Friendster in August. They exchanged contact
numbers. On Aug 26, he suggested meeting her near Bedok MRT
Station. On seeing her friends with her, he became angry and asked
them to leave but they refused. He shouted at the victim and pulled
her away to Block 35 Chai Chee Avenue. There she broke down, and he
tried to hug her.
Subsequently, she answered a call from her friend. When she
tried to leave, Neo pointed a knife at her neck, threatening to
harm her and her friends if she walked away. He then suggested that
she allow him to 'touch' her to settle the matter. He molested
her.
The other case occurred on Nov 1 at about 2am. Neo, wearing a
surgical mask, approached Ms Lu, a Chinese national, from behind
while she was surfing the Internet and cupped her mouth. During a
struggle, he slashed her. She broke free and ran, screaming for
help.
Neo's lawyer Peter Ong said his client was sexually abused when
he was young, and had been diagnosed to have anti-social
personality disorder. Neo has previous convictions for theft,
outrage of modesty and having sex with a girl under 16.
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