Man gets 10 years' jail, caning for sexually assaulting male friend after night of drinking
SINGAPORE — A 45-year-old man was sentenced to 10 years' jail and 12 strokes of the cane for sexually assaulting a younger man who was in an intoxicated state, doing so several times while the latter was semi-conscious.
The assault took place in 2017, after the younger man had met the assailant, Jeffrey Pe, to celebrate the completion of his full-time National Service (NS).
Pe was sentenced on Monday (July 3) in the High Court. He previously claimed trial in September last year to three charges of sexual assault by penetration, claiming that the victim had consented to the acts.
However, he was convicted of his charges in April after High Court judge Mavis Chionh found him to be a "disingenuous witness".
She also found the victim to be an "honest witness" whose evidence was unusually convincing, after reviewing the submissions and evidence.
The younger man, who was then 20 and is a Singapore permanent resident from Britain (AMDK????), cannot be named due to a court order to protect his identity.
Pe is intending to file an appeal to the High Court regarding his sentence and is now on bail.
WHAT HAPPENED
The pair got to know each other at Hero’s pub along Circular Road in July 2017. They exchanged phone numbers and later met on July 30 at a bar to celebrate Pe’s birthday.Pe learned that the victim recently broke up with his longtime girlfriend and was looking to meet people, in particular girls.
He then gained the younger man’s trust by showing that he was a sociable person who could introduce him to people.
They met again on Aug 8 that year to celebrate the victim’s completion of full-time NS.
After the pair had several alcoholic drinks at a restaurant and some pubs in the Chinatown area, the victim felt drunk and asked Pe if he could stay over at his place.
They then took a cab to Pe's condominium, where the younger man fell asleep on the floor of Pe's bedroom.
Sometime later, the victim woke up to find Pe performing oral sex on him. Pe also used his own fingers to penetrate him anally twice.
The victim, who was semi-conscious, pushed Pe away and went to the toilet to wash up. He left the unit and called his friend, saying Pe had raped him, before calling the police.
Pe was arrested a few hours later.
INTOXICATED AFTER A NIGHT OF DRINKING
While delivering the sentence, Justice Chionh said that the victim’s vulnerability from intoxication was one of the aggravating factors."The victim was intoxicated after a night of drinking and was incapable of consenting to the sexual acts performed on him by the accused," she said.
She also agreed with the prosecution’s point that the victim had suffered harm from this incident.
A National University Hospital psychiatrist had diagnosed the younger man with an anxiety disorder with post-traumatic stress symptoms, after examining him around August 2018.
She added that the victim was prescribed antidepressants and his dosage was increased during his subsequent visit to the hospital.
She also disagreed with the man’s lawyers — Mr Amarjit Singh and Mr Simrin Sindhu, that Pe had been cooperative with the authorities, saying that there was no such evidence provided.
Justice Chionh added that the defence’s claims that Pe was of "good character and charitable" based on several character letters provided cannot be used to balance his past good behavior with his current offences.
This sentence will appropriately reflect the level of Pe’s criminality, she said.
Pe could have been jailed for up to 20 years, as well as fined or caned, for each charge of sexual assault by penetration.
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