SINGAPORE, Feb 23 — When a 21-year-old woman refused to reunite with her former fiance, he forced his way into her bedroom and then told her that he would make her pregnant so that she would get back together with him.
He ended up raping her, later saying that he would help her to abort the baby.
She did not become pregnant.
Yesterday, the 22-year-old man was sentenced in the High Court to eight years’ jail and six strokes of the cane.
The Singaporean, who was 20 years old at the time of the rape in June 2019, pleaded guilty to one count of the offence. Another charge of house trespass was taken into consideration for sentencing.
He cannot be named to protect the identity of his victim, who is now aged 23.
The court heard that the couple had dated since November 2017 and got engaged in February 2019. But their relationship began turning sour and she broke up with him three months after the engagement.
He then tried to get back together with her but she rejected him, Deputy Public Prosecutors (DPPs) James Chew and Grace Teo told the court.
On June 15, 2019, she was alone in her flat — something that he had known, because her parents had a habit of visiting Johor Baru in Malaysia on the weekends. She had also told him that she was alone at home that weekend as they were chatting over WhatsApp about her returning him his belongings.
When she left to buy groceries at a nearby mall, he unexpectedly approached her at the void deck of her public housing block and insisted on accompanying her.
They then argued about their relationship and went their separate ways when she told him not to follow her.
Upon returning home, she left the main door and front gate unlocked.
The pair continued their argument over WhatsApp. Around 9pm, she sent him a text message on the phone saying that she was sick and not to disturb her anymore.
“Let me move on,” she added.
She was in her bedroom when she heard him opening the main door. He suddenly entered her bedroom, but she went to the living room and he began telling her that he wanted to get back together.
She refused and told him to leave, but he then told her that he was going to make her pregnant so that she would be obliged to rekindle their relationship.
She said "no" and stood up, but he grabbed her arm and pulled her back to her bedroom, throwing her onto her bed.
He raped her without using a condom as she tried to push him away to no avail.
Afterwards, he let her go and she washed up while crying in the toilet.
He followed her and helped her to wash up, telling her not to cry and that if she became pregnant, he would help her to abort the baby. He then left the flat.
She became “very emotionally affected” by the rape and “very fearful” that she would become pregnant, DPPs Chew and Teo said.
Around midnight, she sent him a text message, saying she wanted to commit suicide. She also sent a video of her holding a knife between her thighs and pointing it towards her private parts.
The next day, she told a friend what had happened and said that she felt like dying, asking why God did not protect her. At her friend’s insistence, she filed a police report at Woodlands West Neighbourhood Police Centre.
The prosecutors sought at least 10 years’ jail and six strokes of the cane, telling the court that the man had caused psychological distress to the victim and committed an egregious act.
They argued that deterrence and retribution should be the primary sentencing considerations even though he was below 21 at the time.
“A person’s home is their sanctuary. A woman has a sacrosanct right to her bodily integrity. This case involves a flagrant and deplorable breach of both these inviolable principles,” they added.
For rape, the man could have been jailed up to 20 years and fined or caned. ― TODAY
