By Shaffiq Alkhatib for The Straits Times
Copyright tnp
Music producer and former Singapore Idol judge Ken Lim, 61, has been convicted of a molestation charge involving a 25-year-old woman.
The incident happened at the Hype Records office in Henderson Road on Nov 23, 2021. Lim was the executive director of the record label company at the time.
In delivering her decision on Sept 26, Principal District Judge Lee Lit Cheng said that she found the victim’s testimony to be unusually convincing, which left no reasonable doubt of Lim’s guilt.
The judge noted that Lim had “jokingly” sent the woman a message stating that he could tie her up.
She also found him to be an untruthful witness, who was willing to make claims to serve his own interests.
In 2024, Lim had to fight off allegations involving a different woman who had accused him of using inappropriate words while they were at Hype Records’ premises on July 25, 2012.
After a trial, District Judge Wong Peck found Lim not guilty of insulting a woman’s modesty.
She said the woman, who was then 25 years old, had embellished her evidence and was not a credible witness.
For this earlier case, Lim was acquitted in December 2024.
Details about both women cannot be disclosed due to a gag order.
The molestation allegation involved a work-related interview at Lim’s office, the court heard.
The woman said she met Lim three times, adding that he made suggestive comments at the second and third meeting.
She said Lim had asked her if she would perform a sex act on a director and have sex with someone “to bring about change”.
The woman said she was molested during their third meeting.
She said it happened after Lim asked her to kiss him. She said she did so once but felt disgusted after doing it.
She told the court that he asked her to kiss him again, but to do it with more passion. The woman said as they kissed, he touched her chest.
The woman later shared details of the incident to her boyfriend at the time and a female friend, who both testified in court.
The female friend said the woman shared details of the encounter, where she described the interview with Lim as “quite traumatic”.
The friend said she was told that Lim had forced the victim to kiss and perform a sex act on him.
The friend told Judge Lee: “He also said that he wanted to tie her up…She just seemed very traumatised by what had happened and very disgusted that she was forced to do things that she didn’t want to do.”
Lim, who is represented by a team led by Senior Counsel Tan Chee Meng, denied molesting the woman.
He told Judge Lee that he would not have artistes signing contracts of up to 20 years with his agency if he had behaved in an improper manner with the woman.
He said: “I’ve been doing this business for four decades. If I was so ridiculous, I won’t be where I am today. I won’t have the success I’m having.”
Lim also denied kissing the woman.
“Being able to kiss on screen is so irrelevant. It’s just a convenient excuse she’s providing to support her allegation.”
“She might be thinking we’re producing movies like Basic Instinct, Game of Thrones, or Sex and the City. But…in Singapore, we are talking about shows like Under One Roof, Phua Chu Kang, Ah Boys to Men,” he said
Lim is facing several other charges related to allegations of improper behaviour involving three other women. These will be dealt with at a later date.
