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SINGAPORE: Former Singapore Idol judge Ken Lim Chih Chiang <\/strong>was sentenced to 13 months’ jail<\/span> on Tuesday (Nov 18) for molesting a 25-year-old woman at his office in 2021.<\/p>\n The 61-year-old had contested the charge in what was the second of five slated trials, but was convicted.<\/p>\n Principal District Judge Lee Lit Cheng found the woman in the molestation accusation to be a truthful witness, while Lim was “untruthful”.<\/p>\n The victim had met Lim for three interviews in 2021, with the molestation taking place on the third occasion at his Hype Records office.<\/p>\n The victim testified at trial that Lim had tested her by asking her to kiss him and she complied but made a disgusted face after.<\/p>\n Lim then said she should not make such a face and asked her to kiss him again, passionately, said the victim.<\/p>\n When the victim kissed Lim, Lim groped her before removing his hand.<\/p>\n The victim was shocked and pulled away. She claimed Lim asked what else she would like to do with him, but she refused and said it was against her morals.<\/p>\n The judge noted the skin-on-skin contact in this case, and the circumstances of the offence.<\/p>\n She said Lim first exploited his position as the victim’s interviewer to create the circumstances enabling him to commit the offence.<\/p>\n He “cultivated an image of authority and expertise by mentioning names of local celebrities and telling the complainant how he had trained them”, said Judge Lee.<\/p>\n “He positioned himself as the complainant’s mentor by offering career advice and requesting complete openness from her to better develop her character and telling her he wanted a very close (mentor-mentee) relationship with her.”<\/p>\n It was in this context that Lim asked the victim to role-play by kissing him, and she consented as she believed it to be part of the interview process, said the judge.<\/p>\n Lim then took the opportunity to grope the victim while she was kissing him.<\/p>\n Judge Lee said Lim exploited the victim’s vulnerability as an interviewee who would want to maintain good relations with him, given his position as a decision-maker for prospects for his company. The victim was understandably reluctant to report his conduct.<\/p>\n The judge also pointed to the “inherent power imbalance”, which increased Lim’s chances of evading accountability for his actions.<\/p>\n Judge Lee said Lim was not eligible for any reduction of sentence for a guilty plea as he had claimed trial, and he “also did not display any remorse in the conduct of his defence”.<\/p>\n She imposed one month’s jail in lieu of three strokes of the cane, as Lim is above 50 and cannot be caned.<\/p>\n Lim’s lead lawyer, Senior Counsel Tan Chee Meng from WongPartnership, said his client would appeal against the conviction and the sentence.<\/p>\n Lim had accusations levelled against him by five women. Other than this case, which is for molestation, the rest are for insulting the modesty of women.<\/p>\n In his first trial, he was acquitted of making sexual comments to an aspiring songwriter in 2012.<\/p>\n After the conviction, lead prosecutor James Chew asked for the remaining five charges to be withdrawn under Section 147(1) of the Criminal Procedure Code.<\/p>\n According to this section, when two or more charges are made against a person and the person is convicted of one or more of them, the prosecution may withdraw the remaining charges.<\/p>\n The judge granted the withdrawal of the remaining charges. This means the three slated remaining trials will not proceed.<\/p>\n Lim is out on bail pending appeal.<\/p>\nJUDGE’S REMARKS<\/strong><\/h2>\n