Man, 39, left girlfriend at Raffles Place taxi stand & tried to rape drunk female friend, 29
The accused failed to rape the victim as she resisted his advances by crossing her legs.Michelle Chew |
A 39-year-old Filipino man pleaded guilty to one count of attempted rape in Singapore court on Jan. 15, CNA, The Straits Times, and Today reported.
This was after the accused tried to rape his female friend following a night out with his own girlfriend, and the victim's boyfriend.
All four individuals were acquainted having known each other in the Philippines before coming to Singapore to work.
Two counts of molest were taken into consideration during sentencing, which has been adjourned to Jan. 18.
Due to a gag order protecting the victim's identity, the names of the accused and the victim cannot be revealed.
What happened
The accused and his girlfriend met with the victim and her boyfriend for drinks at 1-Altitude bar at Raffles Place, where they consumed a large amount of alcohol.
Court documents stated that both the accused and victim were drunk.
The two women were heavily intoxicated and vomited at the bar.
They left the bar at 1am on Apr. 2, 2019, with the two women requiring the two men's assistance to reach the taxi stand.
The four of them initially boarded a Grab ride together, but had to alight after the victim vomited in the vehicle.
Molested the victim in the taxi
Subsequently, a taxi came and the victim boarded it with the help of a female passer-by.
The accused also boarded the same taxi, leaving behind his girlfriend and the victim's boyfriend at the taxi stand.
Both the accused and victim were seated at the rear of the taxi.
The accused reportedly pulled the victim towards him so she could rest her head on his shoulder.
This was followed by the accused placing his hand over her private parts and groping her throughout the ride.
The victim was drifting in and out of consciousness at this point.
Attempted to rape her on his then-girlfriend's bed
Once they alighted, the accused assisted the victim to his home and helped her to his girlfriend's bed where she fell asleep.
He molested her again from 3am to 5am, groping her before deciding to remove both their clothes in an attempt to rape her.
The prosecution stated that the victim felt weak when she woke up and tried to turn away from the accused.
The accused managed to pull down her top and undressed her.
However, he failed to rape her as the victim managed to resist his advances by crossing her legs.
The accused eventually stopped trying and left the room after getting dressed.
Experienced nightmares and panic attacks after the ordeal
The victim's boyfriend appeared at the house shortly after at 5am and brought her home.
The victim confided in her close friends following the incident and sought help from the Association of Women for Action and Research after having nightmares and panic attacks.
She attended a counselling session on May 14, 2019, and lodged a police report on May 27, 2019.
The victim continued her counselling sessions till July 2019, where she stopped her sessions because of her work schedule.
Asked for lighter sentence
The prosecution asked the court to sentence the accused to five years’ jail and six strokes of the cane.
“The victim was forced to suffer both the trauma of discovering that someone, whom she trusted and regarded as a friend, had attempted to violate her while she was intoxicated and vulnerable," the prosecution said.
“He flagrantly abused the victim’s friendship trust by sexually violating her at every step of the way. The emotional pain and trauma suffered by the victim as a consequence of the accused’s betrayal of her trust cannot be understated.”
The accused's lawyer sought for three years and six months’ jail with no caning.
He said the group decided to have drinks together, and it was not a situation that his client had planned from the start.
The offender is expected to be sentenced on Jan. 18.
For attempted rape, the man faces a jail term of up to 20 years and fine or caning.
