Al Sang Cin Zah jailed for indecently assaulting unconscious woman outside CBD pub

A former church youth leader has been jailed after he preyed on an unconscious woman outside a popular CBD hotel, only stopping when a bystander intervened.

A predator has been jailed after he “brazenly and deliberately” indecently assaulted an unconscious woman on the steps of a CBD pub.

Al Sang Cin Zah first watched the woman as she slept on the steps of the Strathmore Hotel just before 6am on January 10, 2021, then indecently touched her buttocks and genital area.

During sentencing, the District Court heard the victim, who was deeply asleep, could be seen on CCTV footage at times resisting Cin Zah.

A cyclist who passed by observed the assault and immediately dismounted her bicycle to help the victim.

“Physically, forcefully confronting you, alerting her friends and passers-by and desperately placing a blanket or something similar over the victim,” Judge Joanne Tracey said.

Al Sang Cin Zah indecently assaulted a passed out woman outside an Adelaide pub. Photo: Facebook

In a victim impact statement prosecutor James Slocombe read to the court last month on her behalf, the victim said the assault was “the worst thing that’s ever happened” to her.

She said the incident had derailed her mental health and she was “constantly reminded” of what happened, while her family members “carried a hidden guilt for not being there to protect” her.

“Even after all this time since the assault and all the work I am constantly putting into healing, the events of that night will never completely go away and it’s something I am going to have to live with for the rest of my life,” she said.

She refused to let the incident define her and hoped that justice was served.

“I hope you are punished for your crime and that your life is impacted as much as mine has been,” she said.

Cin Zah, of Brahma Lodge, was originally charged with rape and indecent assault, but the rape charge was withdrawn on the eve of trial after a key witness became unavailable.

He had earlier pleaded guilty to the indecent assault charge.

“At the time of the offence you describe yourself as a drunk, often sleeping on the streets due to the shame and guilt of being so intoxicated and not wanting to impose on your extended family,” Judge Tracey said.

The court heard Cin Zah arrived in Australia on a humanitarian visa in 1997 after fleeing his birth country Myanmar, where he had been tortured by the Burmese military.

The court heard Cin Zah, a former church youth leader, was concerned about the possibility of deportation if jailed.

Judge Tracey said the offending was too serious for anything but immediate jail and sentenced Cin Zah to one year and eight months jail, with a non-parole period of 11 months.

“Your offending was brazen, opportunistic and deliberate, committed against a young woman who was extremely vulnerable,” she said.