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Arrest warrant out for man who jumped bail after conviction for raping woman
A convicted rapist, who was on bail pending his appeal, has absconded to Thailand, the High Court heard yesterday.
A warrant of arrest has been issued for Ong Soon Heng, 41, who was sentenced to 13½ years' jail and 12 strokes of the cane last November for raping a drunk undergraduate in 2014 after driving her back to his home from nightspot Zouk.
The woman was 22 at the time and working as an intern at his friend's company.
After he was sentenced, Ong, a trainee bunker surveyor, was granted bail of $80,000 pending his appeal against the conviction and sentence.
The appeal had been scheduled to be heard in November.
However, his landlord and brother, who was his bailor, could not contact him last month, the court heard yesterday.
His brother made a police report on June 21.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Eunice Lau told the court that Ong's passport is still with the police, and there are no official records of him leaving the country.
However, there were records of withdrawals made in Thailand from his bank account.
Ong's lawyer, Mr Sunil Sudheesan, told the court that he last saw Ong in April. Subsequently, they corresponded by e-mail.
Mr Sudheesan's application to discharge himself as Ong's lawyer was granted by the court.
In the early hours of July 24, 2014, Ong and the woman were at Zouk with friends. As the night wore on, she became intoxicated and passed out.
Surveillance footage showed Ong hauling her limp body over his shoulder at Zouk and placing her in the back seat of his car.
One of the victim's friends testified in court that she trusted Ong when he said he would drive her home.
At about 4am, he took her to his house in Hume Heights, where he raped her while she was unconscious.
Her boyfriend found her in a stupor at about 6.30am when he tracked her to Ong's home, using a smartphone app after she went silent on her phone.
Ong immediately denied he had done anything with her.
His defence during the trial was that the woman was not unconscious and had consensual sex with him.
But a medical report, based on hospital test results, estimated her blood alcohol concentration to be between 210.50mg and 254.50mg per 100ml of blood when she was in Ong's home.
This means she was severely intoxicated and highly unlikely to have had consensual sex.
During sentencing, Justice Aedit Abdullah said Ong had exploited the opportunity to be alone with the victim because the others thought he was taking her home.
The exploitation, however, did not amount to premeditation, the judge said, as there was no evidence that he had plied her with drinks.
A separate "show cause" hearing will be held for Ong's brother to give reasons why the bail sum should not be forfeited.
The brother, who was in court yesterday, declined to speak to reporters.
