A Singaporean man’s bizarre obsession with women’s hair has landed him behind bars after a shocking incident on a public bus.
According to The Straits Times, 26-year-old Edwin Chow Rui Xiong was riding a bus in Dover on August 3 when he spotted a woman with a long ponytail. Overcome by his urges, he quietly moved behind her, pulled out a pair of scissors, and snipped off her ponytail. He then stuffed the hair into a plastic bag — reportedly to sniff later — while the woman sat unaware.
She realised something was wrong when she reached for her ponytail and felt nothing. After turning around and confronting Chow, the bus driver called the police.
Chow later admitted to officers that he was sexually aroused by long hair and had cut women’s hair before. He pleaded guilty to a charge of using criminal force with intent to outrage modesty and for being armed with cutting instruments. Two additional hair-snipping cases on other buses were also taken into consideration.
During sentencing on September 11, Chow first smiled and said “Nothing” when asked if he had anything to say, then later requested leniency, claiming he had an appointment at the Institute of Mental Health the following week.
The court wasn’t swayed. Chow received a sentence of two months and two weeks in jail. Records show it’s not his first offence — he previously served 21 months’ probation in 2020 for theft and assault.
This jaw-dropping case has since gone viral in Singapore, sparking outrage and disbelief over how far some people will go to satisfy a fetish.
