Man, 20, pleads guilty to sexually assaulting foreign worker sleeping at void deck
https://tdy.sg/47JGhKL
- Sree Kanth Murugan , 20, pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting a foreign worker who was sleeping at a void deck
- He ran away when the victim woke up and gave chase
- The man's lawyer argued that probation would be a more suitable punishment than reformative training, which he said would be like sending him into a "den full of wolves"
- A court called for two reports assessing his suitability for probation and reformative training on Monday (March 18)
BY
NIKKI YEO
Published March 18, 2024Updated March 18, 2024
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SINGAPORE — After returning home from having supper, a 20-year-old man found a foreign worker asleep at the void deck of his home.
Sree Kanth Murugan, who works in the hospitality industry, sexually assaulted the worker before running away when the victim woke up.
On Monday (March 18), he pleaded guilty to one charge of sexual assault. One other charge of molestation will be taken into consideration for sentencing.
The victim, a 34-year-old Indian national working in Singapore as a maintenance worker, cannot be named due to a gag order protecting his identity.
District Judge Carol Ling called for probation and reformative training suitability reports before her judgement on May 9.
THE ASSAULT
On Oct 27, 2023 at around 10.30pm, the victim chatted and drank three cans of beer with his relative at a Housing and Development Board (HDB) flat void deck in Kim Keat Avenue.Around 1.30am, the victim's relative returned to his flat to get ready for a flight the same morning, Deputy Public Prosecutor Ho May Kim told the court.
While waiting for his relative to get ready and give him a lift back to his dormitory on the way to the airport, the victim fell asleep on a concrete slab.
Slightly over a half an hour after victim was left alone, Sree arrived and sat at a table near the victim.
Sree noticed the older man laying down around five metres from where he was and could smell alcohol on him.
He then paced for around three to five minutes near the victim, contemplating whether to touch the victim.
He then used his hand to molest the older man’s private parts over his clothes for around one minute, before putting his hand under the man’s clothing and performing a sex act on him for around five seconds.
The victim woke up to find his private parts exposed and Sree sitting at his feet.
Sree ran off and the foreign worker chased him, however, Sree managed to escape back to his home, which was nearby. He was later arrested on the same morning.
PROBATION VERSUS REFORMATIVE TRAINING
DPP Ho sought a report to assess Sree’s suitability for reformative training and told the court that probation would not be a “realistic” sentencing option, considering the “brazen sexual offence” that Sree had committed.She emphasised that Sree had “preyed” on the victim when he was sleeping and in a vulnerable state, and ran away once he was detected, even when the victim chased him.
DPP Ho argued that probation would have a “limited” effect in deterring Sree from committing such offences, and rehabilitation would be more effective in a structured environment such as reformative training.
Reformative training is a regimented rehabilitative programme offered to young offenders under 21 and involves a residential phase where offenders will stay at a training centre to undergo various programmes.
Unlike probation and community sentences, those who are sent for reformative training will have a criminal record.
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Defence lawyer, Mr Asoka Markandu from law firm Anitha and Asoka, said he was “completely flabbergasted” at the prosecution’s objection to probation and instead asked for a probation suitability report to be called for.
He argued that sending his client for reformative training would be akin to placing him in a “den full of wolves”, and said that a probation officer would provide him with sufficient guidance.
Mr Asoka added that issues of sexuality are a big concern for young people today since the digital age has made youth more aware of such topics at younger age, and that his client was “someone screaming for help”, which led him to “satisfy his urge” in such a public manner.
In response, DPP Ho said that Sree was already at the “cusp of adulthood” when he committed the offence and that reformative training was an option that already took rehabilitation into consideration.
District Judge Ling agreed with both the prosecution and the defence that rehabilitation would be the predominant consideration for sentencing and called for both suitability reports.
Those who commit sexual assault involving penetration can be jailed for up to 20 years, and can also be caned or fined.
