Benjamin Lim’s father disagrees with account of alleged molest
Mr Mohamed Razif (right), the investigating officer who investigated Benjamin Lim's death. Photo: Robin Choo
SINGAPORE — Benjamin Lim’s father yesterday disagreed with the police’s account of what happened in a lift where the teenager was alleged to have molested an 11-year-old girl, despite being shown surveillance footage of the lift and hearing the girl’s account to the police.
Benjamin did not touch the girl and his hand had merely brushed her skirt in the video clip, his father said.
The public and the media were barred from the screening of the footage, behind closed doors in court. The investigation officer for the case, Assistant Superintendent Mohamed Razif, wrote in his report that, on Jan 25, the two-and-a-half minute clip showed the girl entering the lift, followed by Benjamin. She pressed the button to the 14th floor while he pressed the button to the 13th floor. Shortly after, he moved closer to her, and dropped his mobile phone beside her.
As he bent over to pick it up, he used his right hand to touch her, ASP Razif wrote in his report which was tendered in court.
“The girl felt a soft tap on her left buttock and saw (Benjamin’s) right hand moving away from her. She was scared and did not dare to confront him or say anything in the lift,” the report said. It added that Benjamin then turned to look at her, before exiting at the 13th floor.
The girl followed and said: “Wait, wait, wait”. When he replied, “What is it?”, she felt scared and said, “Nothing, nothing.” The girl returned to the lift and went back home, crying to her father over the phone. A police report was subsequently lodged, ASP Razif said.
The CCTV footage was requested from the Nee Soon Town Council on the night of the incident. It was handed over to the police on Jan 30, four days after Benjamin had died. Yesterday, the clip was shown only to the lawyers involved in the case, and Benjamin’s family, to protect the identity of the girl.
Through his lawyer, Benjamin’s father, whose name has been withheld due to a gag order imposed by the court, said he did not agree with ASP Razif’s account.
“From what I observed, I saw (Benjamin’s hand) brush at the area of the girl’s skirt. But it appeared to me that there was no bodily contact,” he said. “My observation differs from what was stated in the investigation report … which states that (Benjamin) used his right hand to touch the lower back portion of the girl.”
In response, State Counsel Wong Woon Kwong said that ASP Razif stood by his description of what happened in the lift. “Ultimately, the finding as to whether there was (a) touch is for Your Honour to decide upon your review of the objective evidence,” said Mr Wong, addressing State Coroner Marvin Bay. “This is (an) inquiry into the death of Benjamin. It is not a criminal trial.” VALERIE KOH
