SINGAPORE: A 34-year-old Indian staff nurse, Elipe Siva Nagu, was sentenced to one year and two months’ jail and two strokes of the cane on Friday, October 24, 2025, after pleading guilty to molesting a male visitor at Raffles Hospital.
Nagu, who worked at the hospital, had molested a male visitor in June, claiming that he was trying to disinfect the visitor. The identity and age of the victim were redacted from court documents, according to reports primarily by The Straits Times.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Eugene Phua stated that the victim had gone to the hospital on North Bridge Road on June 18 to visit his grandfather, who was admitted there. Around 7:30 p.m., the victim entered a patient’s toilet. Nagu looked inside while the visitor was using it. He then applied soap on his hand and molested the visitor under the pretext of “disinfecting.”
The victim, in shock and fear, remained silent and returned to his grandfather’s bedside. The court did not specify what followed immediately after the incident. Nagu was arrested on June 23, two days after the matter was reported on June 21. He was suspended from nursing duties soon after the offence, as per The Strait Times.
According to the Singapore courts, caning is a court-ordered corporal punishment that may be imposed for certain offences. The number of strokes is decided by the court. It can only be given to male offenders below 50 years old, with a maximum of 24 strokes. Female offenders and men aged 50 or above cannot be caned. The punishment is conducted under medical supervision, as stated in Division 2 (Sections 325–332) of Singapore’s Criminal Procedure Code.
Earlier this year, in September, another case involving a healthcare worker made headlines when Alexis Von Yates, a 34-year-old former nurse from the United States, was sentenced to two years in prison after pleading no contest to lewd and lascivious battery for sexually abusing her 15-year-old stepson.
(Rh/VK)