SINGAPORE – A man accused of molesting a 20-year-old woman during the Singapore Grand Prix in 2023 was granted a discharge amounting to an acquittal on April 1.

This means that Briton George Ernest Hyde, 37, cannot be charged again with the same offence.

This comes after the matter was compounded, a process that requires an agreement with the victim to have the matter compensated, usually with payment or an apology.

Before agreeing to the terms, the public prosecutor will also need to consider public interest, the circumstances of the offence and whether there are any aggravating factors.

Under the law, only certain offences can be compounded, such as causing hurt and outrage of modesty.

Without revealing details about the terms of composition, the Attorney-General’s Chambers told The Straits Times: “Having reviewed the facts and circumstances of the case, as well as with the complainant’s agreement, the prosecution acceded to the accused’s request to have the matter compounded.

“After the composition was effected, the court granted the accused a discharge amounting to an acquittal on April 1.”

Mr Hyde had been accused of molesting the woman at or along Connaught Drive at around 10.30pm on Sept 16, 2023.

For molestation, an offender can be jailed for up to three years, fined, caned or receive any combination of such punishments.

Mr Hyde and Irishman Alan Michael Donoghue, 37, were first