Chan Kio: Croydon man sentenced after interactions with teen girls at railway stations

A Croydon man in his late 60s has been sentenced after he pleaded guilty to sexual assault charges from incidents involving teenage girls at Maroondah railway stations.

A man has faced court accused of approaching teenage girls in two incidents at Ringwood railway station. Picture Norm Oorloff

A Burmese man who can barely speak English who creeped onto teenage girls at two Maroondah railway stations was already a convicted sex offender, a court has heard.

Croydon’s Chan Kio, 69, was sentenced at the Ringwood Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday, after he pleaded guilty to sexual assault and offensive public behaviour charges from three incidents at Ringwood and Croydon railway stations late last year.

The first incident occurred on November 24 at 9pm at Ringwood, when Kio allegedly approached a 17-year-old girl and gestured for her to shake hands with him.

As she did, Kio allegedly pulled the girl closer in to his body, before she broke free and boarded a train.

Kio allegedly saw the girl sitting with her sister and a friend, knocked on the train window to get their attention, and made a penetrating “penis and vagina gesture” with his fingers.

On December 11 at 2.40pm, a 19-year-old female passenger noticed Kio allegedly staring at her for a long time as she went to catch a train at Croydon railway station.

In her witness statement, she claimed Kio shook hands with her, then stroked her arm while saying “I like you, I like you very much”, and tried to touch her face.

The woman pulled away but Kio allegedly followed her onto the train, where she sat with two female passengers to feel safe, and ignored his advances.

On December 18 at 8.40pm, Kio allegedly approached a 17-year-old girl at Ringwood railway station, shook her hand and then began kissing her on the face and neck without her consent.

The girl and her friend pulled away and informed PSOs, who then located Kio and arrested him.

Kio had spent 59 days in custody before Magistrate Marc Sargent handed down his sentence on Wednesday.

The court had previously heard Kio, a Burmese refugee who had been living in Australia since 2006, had not held a job since arriving and had prior issues with alcohol.

Defence lawyer Royce Deckar mentioned his client was already on the sexual offender register for life following a separate incident in 2017.

Kio’s daughter, Christina Lang-Sang, assisted with translations during Wednesday’s sentencing as her father could barely speak English.

Magistrate Sargent allowed Kio to be released from jail with a five-year prohibition order, banning him from going within 100m of public transport facilities when affected by alcohol.

Kio was also told he could not consume alcohol or be alcohol-affected while using public transport.

Magistrate Sargent also sentenced Kio to a 15-month community corrections order, which included assessment to attend alcohol and mental health treatment programs, and regular reporting to the court.