Teen gets reformative training for raping schoolmate, then 14, while her boyfriend restrained her
A 19-year-old who raped a 14-year-old schoolmate when he was 16 was sentenced to reformative training.
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- A girl's schoolmate raped her in a public toilet while her boyfriend held her down and covered her face with a jacket
- The accused was the boyfriend of the victim's best friend
- Before the rape, her boyfriend had done a sex act on her while her schoolmate covered her face with a jacket
- The girl revealed the assault to her secondary school teacher a few months after the incident
- The prosecution sought a jail term with caning, pointing out the accused's lack of empathy
BY
JASMINE ONG
Published January 22, 2024Updated January 22, 2024
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SINGAPORE — A 19-year-old, who was 16 when he raped a 14-year-old schoolmate on the floor of a public toilet while her boyfriend held her down with a jacket over her face, was sentenced to reformative training for a minimum of one year on Monday (Jan 22).
Justice Pang Khang Chau had in October adjourned the case for sentencing after calling for a reformative training suitability report, following the accused pleading guilty to rape.
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Reformative training is a comprehensive rehabilitation programme in a closed and structured environment of a reformative training centre that is typically offered to young offenders between the age of 14 and 21, if they are found suitable for it.
After completing their minimum period of detention, a committee reviews if the offenders can be released under a supervision order or if their training should be extended.
The girl's ex-boyfriend, now 25, has been charged with multiple offences, including a charge for abetting the rape.
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All three involved, including the victim, cannot be named under a court order to protect her identity.
Court documents stated that at the time of the incident in 2020, the victim had been in a relationship since October 2019 with her then boyfriend who was seven years older.
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She was also schoolmates with the rapist, who was then 16 and dating her best friend.
THE DRINKING SESSION
On June 27 in 2020, the girl's boyfriend sent her a text message on the phone asking her to have a drink with him.Even though she had stopped drinking in 2019, she was worried that her boyfriend would find another girl to drink with him if she did not agree.
She decided to meet him and they went to buy alcohol from Causeway Point mall in Woodlands before heading to Admiralty Park.
The couple reached the park between 9pm and 10pm, and sat by the playground where the girl set up an Instagram livestream of their drinking session on her boyfriend's instructions.
The accused, who had seen the livestream, then messaged her to ask if he could join their drinking session.
When he arrived, both the girl and her boyfriend had consumed about half a bottle of whisky, which left her feeling tipsy.
Despite not wanting to drink more, the girl continued to accept drinks that her boyfriend poured for her because he would scold her for rejecting his offer of alcohol.
Shortly after she drank the last bit of alcohol, the girl threw up and lay down on the ground.
Her boyfriend then asked her to go to the nearby toilet to wash up but she was unable to walk a few steps without falling over.
After failing to transport her to the toilet using his electric scooter, the schoolmate and the girl's boyfriend carried her to the handicap toilet.
THE RAPE
As she vomited into the toilet bowl, she heard the accused and her boyfriend talking before her boyfriend came into the cubicle to remove her jacket and shirt.At this point, she was lying down with her boyfriend sitting to her left and her schoolmate sitting on her right.
All of a sudden, her schoolmate threw her jacket over her face and held it there.
She started to shout, telling him to go away and not to touch her but her schoolmate continued holding the jacket over her face while holding her shoulders down as the girl's boyfriend pulled down her jeans and underwear.
Her boyfriend then performed a sex act on her.
As she was struggling, the jacket moved from her face and when her boyfriend realised that she could see, he signalled for her schoolmate to stop.
The victim got upset with her boyfriend and scolded him for letting her schoolmate restrain her.
She then tried to placate her boyfriend, hoping to prevent further assaults on her.
However, her boyfriend told her to lie down as he and the schoolmate resumed their positions on either side of her.
The court heard that the victim's schoolmate covered her face with her jacket because they did not want her to know who was having sexual intercourse with her.
The victim cried, struggled and tried to kick at them but her boyfriend held her down and kept the jacket over her face as her schoolmate removed his shorts and underwear.
Her schoolmate then raped her without protection.
After that, the victim's boyfriend took the jacket off her face and told her to wash herself up.
As she was crying, the victim's schoolmate told her boyfriend to console her while he waited outside the toilet.
When the victim asked her boyfriend why he did not stop the accused, he did not answer her and instead blamed her for having sexual intercourse with the accused.
The two eventually broke up in September 2020.
During a self-study support group session with her secondary school teacher on Feb 17 in 2021, the girl told her teacher about the assault.
The school authorities then informed the girl's mother who made a police report on Feb 23.
PROSECUTION SOUGHT JAIL TERM WITH CANING
Seeking a sentence of between eight and 10 years with between six and eight strokes of the cane, Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Yvonne Poon said that the facts of this case displayed a grim lack of empathy on the part of the accused, who was her schoolmate.Despite the accused being found suitable for reformative training, DPP Poon reiterated the prosecution's position on seeking a jail term with caning, because the accused had sought to justify his actions and minimise his responsibility in the offence.
"The report also showed that the accused claimed that the victim was enjoying the act even after he admitted to the statement of facts that stated the victim was crying, struggling and kicking," DPP Poon added.
In delivering his decision, Justice Pang said that he did see some merit to the prosecution's interpretation of what was stated in the report, but he was also prepared to give the accused the benefit of doubt to those remarks.
Addressing the accused, he said: "If you ever commit any other offences, you will be treated as an adult and sentencing options as an adult cannot be avoided."
For rape, the girl's schoolmate could have been jailed for up to 20 years and given up to 12 strokes of the cane.