Ex-S’pore Idol judge Ken Lim appeals against conviction for molesting woman in 2021
Selina Lum
The Straits Times
Sep 11, 2026
Former Singapore Idol judge and music producer Ken Lim appealed to the High Court on Sept 11 against his conviction and 13-month jail sentence for molesting a 25-year-old woman.
He was convicted by a district court in September 2025 for molesting the woman on Nov 23, 2021 at the office of Hype Records, his music production and artiste management company.
His lawyer, Senior Counsel Tan Chee Meng, argued that it was “totally unsafe for the conviction to hold”, given the “multitude of contradictions” in the woman’s testimony.
He asserted that her testimony was at odds with what she told her then boyfriend and two close friends, and that it was “impossible” for her to be groped in the manner she described.
The senior counsel also took issue with a “missing” segment of CCTV footage of Lim and the woman leaving the office, which he said would have shown that she was behaving normally.
Another of Lim’s lawyers, Samuel Navindran, said the 13-month jail term imposed by the district court was excessive, and that a sentence of about eight months’ jail would be in line with past cases.
Deputy Public Prosecutor James Chew, on the other hand, contended that the woman was completely consistent on the material aspects of what happened at the office and how Lim had molested her.
He argued that the accounts of the boyfriend and two friends were generally consistent with the complainant’s testimony in terms of how she was molested and her demeanour when she confided in them.
The prosecutor said: “The court is not looking for identical accounts. That’s simply not realistic.”
Chew said the defence’s claim of impossibility was “a complete non-starter”.
The CCTV footage issue was inconsequential and a red herring, as the woman’s account that she pretended as if nothing had happened could already be seen in the footage from other CCTV cameras, he said.
Chew said the sentence of 12 months’ jail, with an additional month in lieu of caning, was not manifestly excessive.
Justice Hoo Sheau Peng will give her decision at a later date.
The complainant, who was talent-spotted by Hype Records, met Lim at the office on three occasions between Nov 16, 2021 and Nov 23, 2021. The molestation occurred at the third meeting.
She said at the second meeting on Nov 18, Lim spoke about the traits of being a celebrity, and asked whether she would carry out a certain sex act on a director.
He assured her that this would not actually happen, and the aim was to determine whether she was able to perform under pressure, particularly in scenes requiring her to kiss or carry out certain acts.
Lim also asked whether she would “f*** for a change”, which he claimed was a figure of speech.
They moved on to other topics, and the meeting ended on a positive note, she said.
After the second meeting, Lim sent her messages on Telegram secret chat. One of his messages said, “happy to tie you up, babe” with a kissing or smiling emoji.
When she said she did not appreciate sexual comments, he replied, “no, everything is serious”.
At the third meeting, Lim focused on sacrifice as one of the traits of being a celebrity and asked if she was willing to “f*** for a change”.
She said after initially saying “no”, she eventually said “yes” out of frustration. Lim then sat next to her on the couch, and told her to kiss him, she said.
She said she perceived the demand for a kiss as a test to demonstrate her commitment to sacrifice and her ability to act under pressure.
She said she kissed him but pulled away after a few seconds.
Lim told her to kiss him again, passionately. While they were kissing, he reached under her collar and groped her, she said.
She then told him she had to leave to meet her boyfriend.
She said she was on “autopilot” as they left the office together and went his car at the car park. He drove her to the ground floor, and they parted ways when her Grab ride arrived.
She gave Lim a side-hug before she boarded the car.
The next day, Nov 24, she broke down after her manicure went badly. This led her to disclose what occurred to the boyfriend, and later, her two friends.
On Sept 11, Lim’s lawyers argued that the woman had vacillated on her understanding of whether Lim’s discussions with her were literal demands for sex or figurative questions.
Tan said it was incredible for the woman to accede to the kiss when she maintained that she understood them to be hypothetical questions.
He questioned her decision to go for the third meeting despite the questions at the second meeting and the sexual questions over Telegram.
Tan added that her claim that she did not want to be near Lim after he molested her did not gel with her actions in following him to his car and hugging him.
The prosecutor replied that the woman was excited about the opportunity to break into the entertainment sector, and saw Lim as a reputable person.
“What had happened until then did not cross the line to the point she had to pull the plug,” he said.
The prosecutor added that she gave a clear and reasonable explanation for her seemingly normal behaviour after the incident.
“She explained she was in a state of shock after bring groped. She was not thinking clearly and was operating on ‘autopilot’ mode.
“She tried to keep calm and pretended everything was normal. Her main thought was to get away without alarming him.”
In 2024, Lim was cleared of allegations in a separate trial involving a different woman who accused him of making sexual comments while they were at Hype Records’ premises on July 25, 2012.
In 2024, Lim was cleared of allegations in a separate trial involving a different woman who accused him of making sexual comments while they were at Hype Records’ premises on July 25, 2012.
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