K
Keiji Maeda
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Jun 16, 2011
Accused of molesting teen, but case settled
By Khushwant Singh
A prison officer was saved the ignominy of becoming a convict himself when he was allowed to compound a molestation offence on Thursday. Mr Selvaraj Karuppiah (above) was alleged to have brushed his hand against the breast of a 13-year-old student at the Chingay Parade on Feb 20 last year. -- ST PHOTO: WONG KWAI CHOW
A PRISON officer was saved the ignominy of becoming a convict himself when he was allowed to compound a molestation offence on Thursday. Mr Selvaraj Karuppiah was alleged to have brushed his hand against the breast of a 13-year-old student at the Chingay Parade on Feb 20 last year.
The 51-year-old man settled the matter by apologising to her in court and paying her $10,000. Under the law, she cannot be named. The teen appeared very uncomfortable and held onto her mother's hand when both came forward to receive the apology from the father of three grown-up children.
Defence counsel Rajan Supramanian declined to comment on the reasons why the case was settled without a conviction. Other lawyers said the prosecution may have decided to allow an offence to be compounded after carefully considering the nature of the evidence and the strengths and weaknesses of the case.
Mr Selvaraj, who has served more than 30 years as a prison officer, is said to hold the rank of staff sergeant. He was at the Chingay Parade as part of the Yellow Ribbon project to encourage employers to give ex-convicts a second chance.
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