[NEWS]Low Ji Qing Masturbate after Smelling USED undergarments,handbags and wallets

HE WAS an economics graduate with a bright future ahead of him.

But Low Ji Qing, now 46, has spent the better part of his life behind bars for stealing women's wallets.

His real reason for pilfering the wallets remained a secret for years.

But the truth emerged when he told a government psychiatrist in 1996 that he would get sexually aroused from the smell of the leather wallets.

The psychiatrist diagnosed him as suffering from fetishism, which are recurrent, intense, sexually arousing fantasies, sexual urges and behaviours involving the use of a non-living object.

But shame kept Low from seeking treatment.

And he never managed to break free from the compulsion.

Last year, barely a month after he was released from prison after serving 10 years of preventive detention, he went on a stealing spree again.

Yesterday, Low pleaded guilty to four charges of stealing women's wallets.

Another five similar charges and one charge of fraudulently obtaining five ez-link cards will be taken into consideration when he is sentenced next month.

But this time, Low may get a reprieve. District Judge Soh Tze Bian asked Low's lawyer, Mr Josephus Tan, to explore the possibility of placing his client in a halfway house.

Mr Tan had asked the court to grant Low probation so that he could continue to seek treatment at the Institute of Mental Health (IMH), where he has been receiving treatment since his arrest last June.

Dr Joseph Ozawa, a court-appointed clinical psychologist, had said that Low should continue with his treatments, whether at IMH or elsewhere.

The court heard that Dr Ozawa, who convened a community court conference (CCC) on Low's case last September, also said that a special programme available at the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports (MCYS) would be suitable for Low if he were put on probation.

But the prosecution objected to probation as Low had not only made away with the wallets, he had also used the cash and other items in them.

Severe fetishism urge

Moreover, he was unable to make restitution of about $6,200 to the victims.

Nonetheless, Judge Soh noted that Low had re-offended shortly after completing his preventive detention last year, and that he had "a severe fetishism urge".

Judge Soh told Mr Tan to seek Dr Ozawa's opinion at another CCC, saying: "We will see what Mr Ozawa can come up with... see who's prepared to accept him."

He adjourned sentencing to Feb 21.

If Low gets treatment, it could be the first step towards freeing himself from a compulsion that has plagued him for most of his life.

The court heard that his sexual preoccupation with women's wallets started when he was seven.

He began by smelling his sister's belongings such as her undergarments, handbags and wallets. Gradually, he preferred to smell only her wallet.

As he grew older, he would have recurrent sexual urges and fantasies involving her wallet.
He went on to arouse himself with the wallets of his friend's sisters.

And he continued doing this despite having a girlfriend for 11 years.

This compulsion drove Low, an economics graduate from University of Western Australia, into a life of crime, the court was told.