SINGAPORE, June 11 — Accused of turning violent and strangling his then-girlfriend before raping her, the man on trial told a court today that none of this had occurred and that the sex was consensual.

The 42-year-old Malaysian, who had worked at a hotel before he was retrenched, took the witness stand for the first time at the start of the second phase of the trial, refuting earlier testimony by the victim in March over how the alleged rape happened.

Both the man and the 30-year-old Malaysian victim cannot be named due to a court order to protect her identity. He has pleaded not guilty to one charge of aggravated rape.

In the earlier phase of the trial, the victim had said that the two were no longer in a boyfriend-girlfriend relationship when the alleged rape happened on August 6, 2017 at a flat they still shared. The man has been remanded in prison since his arrest the following day.

Advertisement

Evidence of the alleged violence, including a torn T-shirt worn by the victim at the time, and her bra which had lost some of its retaining pins, was presented in court in the earlier hearings.

The court also heard that he had slapped her and “forcibly pushed her” onto her bed, even as she shouted for help. The man also allegedly strangled her till she felt faint.

Still in love

Advertisement

But today, the man said in his evidence that the two of them were still in love at the time and having a rough patch possibly owing to financial issues as well as his retrenchment at the start of 2017.

The woman’s parents were also strongly against their relationship, which began sometime between 2011 and 2012 after they met at work, he said.

The court heard that the pair had tiffs over financial issues, his snoring problem and his frequent texts requesting her to share selfies and her location. But the man said these were momentary quarrels that ended after sex, and that they were still in a relationship.

The court had previously heard evidence that text messages from the victim in mid-2017 made it clear that she did not wish to be in a relationship with him and that she wanted to move out of their rented flat.

The man told the court: “It didn’t cross my mind that there was anything wrong with our relationship. I just thought, maybe she was stressed and had a lot of problems, but has not told me.”

“So, I just waited for the right date and time to talk to her,” he added.

Day of the alleged rape

The man said that on the day of the alleged rape, he was seeking to relieve her of stress.

He hugged the woman from behind and ended up tearing her shirt by accident.

“I just want to hug her and maybe she can relieve any stress or problem or tell me if she had any problems,’’ he told the court.

He added that she was upset by the torn shirt and began shouting, but became quiet when he put a finger to her lips.

“Then, we hugged each other. She hugged me back. We kissed,” he told the court, testifying that he removed the shirt and her bra without any resistance from her.

But after they had sex, the victim complained of abdominal pains and the man accompanied her to a clinic three blocks from their home. At the clinic, the victim told the doctor about the alleged rape, and the police were called without his knowledge.

The man denied that he had fled the scene, testifying that he had gone home to retrieve the victim’s mobile phone at her request. He also said he packed some of his clothing in order to stay with his friend because she had told him to leave. He did not return to the clinic.

The man then sent her text messages begging her to not go to the police, but received no reply. He had also texted friends that he was in trouble with the law and asked them for a lorry, which the man said was only meant to move his belongings to his Johor Baru home.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Yvonne Poon previously said these messages had showed the degree of the man’s panic as he sought to escape culpability for his alleged actions.

In one voice message sent to a friend, the man had said he was involved in a “fighting case” and that he had hit her, according to previously submitted evidence.

In his evidence today, he said that at the time, he “did not want to elaborate everything” to a friend.

Asked by his defence lawyer Megan Chia why he did not simply explain himself to the police, the man replied: “I did not do anything wrong but I was still scared… It did not cross my mind at that time.”

The man said that when he saw the victim’s torn clothing for the first time in court in March he was surprised that it was torn so badly. He said he did not damage her bra as he did not use any force.

The man also challenged the accuracy of several of his signed statements that were recorded by police investigators, including one that described the victim as a friend or an ex-girlfriend.

“At the time, I was not in the state of mind to read the statement. I just signed it. I did not know this was a very important statement,” he said, of a police statement taken from him after his arrest.

Asked by Chia if he had anything else to say to the court or to the victim, he said: “I did not rape her, I did not strangle her. I did not do anything wrong, Yes, I accidentally tore her shirt, but I did not use any force on her. I still love her, even until today.”

If found guilty of aggravated rape, the man could be jailed for between eight and 20 years, and given at least 12 strokes of the cane.

The trial continues tomorrow. — TODAY