Gang-rapists' charges reduced

[chowka]

Jul 22, 2010

CHRISTMAS SEX ATTACK

Gang-rapists' charges reduced
Trial halted and five accused admit lesser sex charges

<!-- by line --> By Selina Lum
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FIVE youths in the middle of being tried for gang-raping a 17-year-old girl have had their charges reduced to aggravated outrage of modesty. What makes this development unusual is that the trial had already gone on for 19 days, with 46 witnesses, including the girl, testifying.

Instead of the maximum 20-year jail term for rape, the five, aged 18 to 21, now face terms of, at most, half that. Rape and aggravated outrage of modesty are both punishable by caning.

The girl, now 19, was being cross-examined by a defence lawyer on her seventh day on the stand when the trial came to a premature halt. It is unclear what emerged during her testimony behind closed doors, but the charges were reduced after defence representations to the Attorney-General's Chambers.

It was mentioned in open court on Thursday that the defence produced the girl's blog during the trial. It also emerged that the prosecution had no plans to tender a 'victim impact' statement, typically submitted to show the effects of the crime on the victim.

Read the full story in Friday's edition of the Straits Times.

 

[lauhumku]

Rape trial twist
Five accused of raping teen plead guilty to lesser charge of aggravated outrage of modesty
By Vivien Chan
July 23, 2010

The five youths were facing up to 20 years in jail after they claimed trial to charges of rape and sexual assault of a 17-year-old girl.

But in a surprising twist yesterday morning, they pleaded guilty to one charge each of aggravated outrage of modesty.

The victim had earlier been giving her testimony via video-conference behind closed doors.

Then the decision was taken to abort the trial. No reason was given in court yesterday.

The five accused – Muhammad Shafie Ahmad Abdullah, 19, Mohd Sadruddin Azman, 20, Lim Boon Tai, 21, Rishi Mohan, 18, and Mohamed Firdaus Roslan, 19, – committed the offence between 4am and 6am on Dec 26, 2008.

Their trial began on Nov 17, 2009, almost a year after their arrests on Dec 30, 2008.

 

[Taishi Ci]

Jail, caning for 5


Aug 14, 2010

Jail, caning for 5
They should count themselves lucky the charge of rape was reduced, judge tells the men

<!-- by line --> By Carolyn Quek
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Rishi Mohan (left) was jailed for four years and will get five strokes of the cane, Mohamed Firdaus Roslan (centre) received 4 1/2 years' jail and five strokes, and Lim Boon Tai (right) received five years' jail and eight strokes. -- ST PHOTOS: DESMOND LIM

A HIGH Court judge yesterday sentenced five youths to jail and caning for sexually assaulting a teenager two years ago and told them to count themselves lucky the prosecution had been so generous with them. Justice Chan Seng Onn said what he saw was 'factually rape', which carries a maximum punishment of 20 years in jail.

Instead, the five pleaded guilty last month to charges of aggravated outrage of modesty, after the initial charge of rape had been reduced.
It is unclear why the charge was reduced, but this happened after the victim had given her testimony behind closed doors.

Justice Chan said: 'This is the first time I have come across a case (of aggravated outrage of modesty) where the agreed facts of the case the accused admitted to could have fitted penile penetration without consent.'
If not for their ages, he would have set their sentences closer to the maximum punishment of 10 years, he said, adding grimly: 'The accused persons should count themselves very lucky.'

In the end, he sentenced Lim Boon Tai, 21, a part-time worker, to five years in jail and eight strokes of the cane. He was deemed by the prosecution to be the most culpable of the lot. Mohamed Firdaus Roslan, 19, a polytechnic dropout, received the next harshest sentence with 41/2 years in jail and five strokes of the cane.

Rishi Mohan, 18, the only one who did not face a rape charge at first, was jailed for four years and will get five strokes. Muhammad Shafie Ahmad Abdullah, 19 and Mohd Sadruddin Azman, 20 - both already in remand since Dec 30, 2008 - were jailed for 31/2 years and sentenced to five strokes of the cane each. All are Singaporean, except Rishi, who is a Singapore permanent resident from Malaysia.

To the defence lawyers' pleas for probation or reformative training for the five teens, the judge said: 'A sentence so lenient... would not be of the public interest or not sufficiently address the gravity of the case. 'It was a gang sexual assault of a grave nature which the accused persons had perpetrated without her consent.'

The five, who were aged between 17 and 19 at the time of the offences, had gathered at Shafie's flat in Woodlands when his parents were overseas on the night of Dec 25, 2008. It started with the victim receiving a phone call that day from Lim, who lied that he was a schoolmate. Although she did not know him, she agreed to meet for supper.

It was Rishi, her former schoolmate, who turned up. He was the only one she knew from the group of five. Rishi took her to the flat and introduced her to the others. Lim admitted that he had made the call. The group then started playing card games which involved alcoholic drinks as forfeits.

Some time the next morning, the victim agreed to sex with Lim, but was later assaulted by the five. In court yesterday, the five youths wept as their relatives approached them in the dock after they had been sentenced. Two of them kissed their parents' hands through the glass partition in a typical gesture of respect.

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