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SINGAPORE - It was just a handshake with a female colleague, but it shook his world to the core when she accused him of molesting her.
Mr Paul Joseph Smith, 55, lost his job as an IT project manager and went through the ordeal of a trial in which he was convicted and ordered to be jailed for 18 weeks.
He had to depend on family members in Australia for financial support. Even then, he could afford only a meal a day, he said. When he lodged an appeal against the conviction, he didn't think he stood a chance.
But the seemingly impossible happened and he walked out of court a free man.
During a four-day trial in April and May, the woman, 38, told the court that she felt her breast being squeezed twice, although she did not see him do it.
Acquitted
In June, Mr Smith was convicted of molesting his colleague of two years after a meal on Sept 3 last year.
He appealed and was acquitted on Oct 25.
An appeals judge found there was reasonable doubt, noting that the woman had not been sure if the touch was intentional, The Straits Times reported.
Speaking to The New Paper on Thursday, Mr Smith said that on the day of the appeal, he had gone to court fearing the worst.
He said: "I thought if I had zero hope, there wouldn't be a shock (if his appeal failed)." But the acquittal still came as a shock in what he admits was an emotional moment.
He said: "Australian guys aren't supposed to cry. It took me a few minutes to compose myself."
At the time of his trial, he thought the truth would be enough to free him.
He said that when he was convicted and sentenced, "the earth opened up, swallowing me".
He said: "I thought it couldn't be happening."
He spent one night in prison, in what he called an eye-opening experience, before bail was arranged.
He had no money left to pay for an appeal, but his lawyers offered to do it - pro bono if he lost, and they could work out payment if he won.
He told TNP that on the night of the incident, the five colleagues, of whom two were women, had several drinks over dinner at a Mohamed Sultan Road restaurant.
Then, they stood up to say goodbye. Two male colleagues gave the woman a hug and he opted for a handshake.
Said Mr Smith: "I should've given her a hug. It would have been more contact, but socially acceptable."
Instead, he said, his hand ended up wedged under her armpit, and he pulled back, he said.
He said of that fateful accident: "I chuckled a little, it was so absurd. She tried to kick me and I bumped against a table. Then she wandered off."
He said she did not respond to an apology he sent in an SMS the next day.
When he returned to work on Monday, Sept 5, he tried to approach her, but she put out her hand to his face and refused to hear more, he said.
Later that morning, he was at his desk when two policemen came in and asked him to follow them to the station for questioning.
On leaving the office, he said to the only colleague around at the time: "I don't know how long I'll be, if I can come back."
He said he was in a state of shock during the questioning. He was released at 5pm that day and spent a sleepless night, the first of many to come.
What followed was a very lean four months in which he lived on charity.
His two female roommates, friends of four years, at a three-room flat in Redhill covered his rent and utilities. His three siblings, who live in Australia, sent him money for food and transport.
His mother, who has a bad heart, still does not know of his case.
Mr Smith said he lived on char siew (barbecued pork) rice from Redhill Hawker Centre as he could afford only one meal a day.
He said: "I lost 10kg. It was a good way to diet."
More money came when he cashed out his Australian pension, having spent 25 to 30 years working largely in the IT industry.
Four walls
Twice or thrice a month, a male ex-colleague would encourage him to socialise by taking him out for a drink. He said his ex-colleagues remained friends with him after hearing his side of the story.
Otherwise, it was the four walls of his room as he didn't want to spend money on transport.
"I became so good at Facebook games and had many high scores. I read all the few hundred books in my library at least twice.
"It was people like (the male ex-colleague) and my family who kept me going."
Mr Smith said he is now very careful around women, and if he is alone in the lift and a woman enters, he will leave.
"I can't afford a misunderstanding like this again." He looks forward to securing a job and getting back on his feet.
He said: "Though I've won, I've also lost."
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