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SINGAPORE: After talking to a teenage girl about his relationship problems at a park, a 35-year-old man sat on top of her, forced vodka down her throat and raped her over two hours.
The 13-year-old girl cried for help and was in great pain, eventually managing to crawl near a toilet where she sent voice messages to her loved ones pleading for help.
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Muhammad Alif AB Rahim was sentenced on Friday (Mar 19) to 28 years' jail and 24 strokes of the cane for what the judge called "a harrowing two-hour ordeal of rape and repeated sexual assault".
The court heard that the victim knew the man "peripherally" through a friend but was not close to him and did not know his name.
On the evening of Oct 24, 2017, the victim went to deliver items to a friend and went to Kallang Riverside Park to get some air. She ran into Alif, who suggested that they buy drinks and go to the park to chat.
Trusting him, the victim followed Alif to a provision shop where he bought a bottle of cola and plastic cups.
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They sat at the end of the jetty in the park in front of the river between 9pm and 11pm, and Alif removed a bottle of vodka from his bag, asking the victim if she wanted some.
As she declined, he poured cola for her and a mixture of vodka and cola for himself. They drank from their cups as Alif talked about his relationship problems with his girlfriend.
Suddenly, Alif leaned forward and kissed the victim, shocking her. When she moved away and tried to use her phone, he snatched it away from her before sitting on top of her and molesting her.
When the victim cried and shouted, Alif put the bottle of vodka to her mouth, pressed her cheeks to force it open and poured the alcohol in.
FORCED ALCOHOL DOWN HER MOUTH
The girl could not close her mouth and tried to spit the liquid out but was forced to swallow it, with some vodka sloshing onto her face and stinging her eyes.
Alif began sexually assaulting the girl, pushing her against a fence when she tried to run. After slapping the girl when she resisted, Alif raped and sodomised the girl.
He then forced her to perform oral sex on him, and she felt like vomiting from the assault. Throughout the assault, the girl struggled and cried but no one heard her as they were in a secluded area of the park.
After telling the victim not to inform anyone about what happened, Alif left the area. The girl cried and tried to wipe herself down and stand up, but was too dizzy and in pain to do so.
GIRL CRAWLED AWAY, CALLED FOR HELP
Eventually, she managed to crawl from the jetty to a grass patch near the toilet, where she sent audio clips to her aunt, friend and other relatives.
Audio clips of the girl sobbing and pleading were played in court. She told her loved ones that she had been raped but could not explain herself clearly and did not know where she was.
She hoped a passer-by would rescue her, but Alif returned on a bicycle and threatened her, warning her not to tell anyone before leaving again.
The girl was finally found by her friends lying on top of a drain and she had difficulty walking. Alif's girlfriend found out that the victim had pinpointed Alif as the rapist, and she asked Alif about this, but he denied seeing the victim.
He changed his clothes and went to the park where the victim was with her friends and family. He denied raping her, and said he would run away if the police came as he had other pending cases.
He threatened the victim's 54-year-old grandmother and said that if anything happened to him, he would find the victim's family and "harm you". When police officers approached, he fled the scene.
The police went to Alif's girlfriend's home to search for him, but he locked himself inside her bedroom. When the officers broke in, they found him hiding in a wooden cupboard.
After his arrest, Alif misled the police by claiming he was wearing different clothes, so that they would be unable to conduct closed-circuit television footage screenings and forensic testing of his clothes.
He spun a story that he was looking for his girlfriend at the park and had never met the victim that night. A year later, he changed his story to say the victim had come onto him and requested sex.
The victim was taken to a hospital with lacerations on her elbow, abrasions on her knee and tears in her hymen.
She was assessed to have clear symptoms of trauma and had to be treated two to three times a month. Her trauma was triggered whenever she saw other men, and she has flashbacks when she watches movies with rape scenes.
She said she did not want to see Alif in court as it would hurt her too much, but she had to relive the incident when preparing for the trial that Alif originally intended to have.
VICTIM TRAUMATISED
A February 2019 report stated that she still woke up crying from nightmares of Alif and was afraid of going out alone and seeing male strangers. She had to receive counselling to overcome this fear and is reminded of the incident whenever she sees television scenes of drunken men trying to go on top of girls.
She was also unable to be intimate or sustain a relationship with her ex-boyfriend and the incident is likely to affect her subsequent relationships, said Deputy Public Prosecutor Gregory Gan.
Alif was examined at the Institute of Mental Health and found to have no mental illness at the time of the offences. His intelligence is in the borderline range, but he does not suffer from an intellectual disability as he has good adaptive functioning.
Alif pleaded guilty to one count of raping a minor and two counts of sexual assault by penetration of a minor. Another seven charges were considered in sentencing.
Mr Gan called for at least 28 years' jail and 24 strokes of the cane, saying that Alif "callously robbed the victim of her virginity, inflicting grave suffering and distress on her".
"The audio clips as she cried to the various maternal figures in her life make absolutely clear the heart-wrenching trauma she was undergoing as she struggled to make sense of the senseless violence that had just been inflicted upon her," he said, adding that Alif's cruel actions have haunted her since.
Alif has multiple previous convictions starting from 2001, including cheating, robbery and sexual assault. His most recent conviction in 2014 involved snatch theft and sexual assault by penetration. He was given 42 months' jail and three strokes of the cane, but he was not deterred, said Mr Gan.
He added that the girl said she has not found the courage to tell her mother what happened, as it occurred when her mother was in prison. "She does not understand the pain that I am silently suffering every day," the girl said in her victim impact statement.
HE HAS LOW IQ: DEFENCE
Defence lawyer Gloria James-Civetta said she cannot run away from the fact that the offences committed were violent crimes against a young victim, but urged the court to consider 20 years' jail and 24 strokes of the cane.
She said her client has a low IQ and was previously diagnosed with anti-social personality disorder. He had difficulty with complex social situations and making appropriate choices, she said.
"Another factor to consider is - he has been assaulted twice in prison while being remanded and since then he is put in isolation," she said.
In reply, Mr Gan said Alif has no mental illness and knew it was wrong to sexually assault an underage girl. His borderline intelligence did not stop him from committing offences that required guile, such as his previous cheating offences, and he was cunning enough to mislead investigators, he said.
On the assault in remand, Mr Gan said Alif was assaulted by two men in 2017, but emphasised that while the victim's grandmother had written to one of the men, she never told him or anyone to assault Alif.
"So neither the victim nor her grandmother had anything to do with the assault," said Mr Gan, adding that the latest assault on Alif in 2020 was after the two men were no longer there and the assault is "not connected to the present case".
Justice See Kee Oon said Alif had "no discernible indication of remorse all along" but gave him some credit for his plea of guilt, even though he noted that Alif was not cooperative in investigations and tried to frustrate them.
While Alif has a low IQ, he had good adaptive functioning and was able to remain in the school system until he left and gained employment and started a family, said Justice See.
For aggravated rape, the man could have been jailed for between eight and 20 years and given at least 12 strokes of the cane. The maximum penalties for aggravated sexual assault by penetration are the same.
Source: CNA/ll
The 13-year-old girl cried for help and was in great pain, eventually managing to crawl near a toilet where she sent voice messages to her loved ones pleading for help.
Advertisement
Muhammad Alif AB Rahim was sentenced on Friday (Mar 19) to 28 years' jail and 24 strokes of the cane for what the judge called "a harrowing two-hour ordeal of rape and repeated sexual assault".
The court heard that the victim knew the man "peripherally" through a friend but was not close to him and did not know his name.
On the evening of Oct 24, 2017, the victim went to deliver items to a friend and went to Kallang Riverside Park to get some air. She ran into Alif, who suggested that they buy drinks and go to the park to chat.
Trusting him, the victim followed Alif to a provision shop where he bought a bottle of cola and plastic cups.
Advertisement
They sat at the end of the jetty in the park in front of the river between 9pm and 11pm, and Alif removed a bottle of vodka from his bag, asking the victim if she wanted some.
As she declined, he poured cola for her and a mixture of vodka and cola for himself. They drank from their cups as Alif talked about his relationship problems with his girlfriend.
Suddenly, Alif leaned forward and kissed the victim, shocking her. When she moved away and tried to use her phone, he snatched it away from her before sitting on top of her and molesting her.
When the victim cried and shouted, Alif put the bottle of vodka to her mouth, pressed her cheeks to force it open and poured the alcohol in.
FORCED ALCOHOL DOWN HER MOUTH
The girl could not close her mouth and tried to spit the liquid out but was forced to swallow it, with some vodka sloshing onto her face and stinging her eyes.
Alif began sexually assaulting the girl, pushing her against a fence when she tried to run. After slapping the girl when she resisted, Alif raped and sodomised the girl.
He then forced her to perform oral sex on him, and she felt like vomiting from the assault. Throughout the assault, the girl struggled and cried but no one heard her as they were in a secluded area of the park.
After telling the victim not to inform anyone about what happened, Alif left the area. The girl cried and tried to wipe herself down and stand up, but was too dizzy and in pain to do so.
GIRL CRAWLED AWAY, CALLED FOR HELP
Eventually, she managed to crawl from the jetty to a grass patch near the toilet, where she sent audio clips to her aunt, friend and other relatives.
Audio clips of the girl sobbing and pleading were played in court. She told her loved ones that she had been raped but could not explain herself clearly and did not know where she was.
She hoped a passer-by would rescue her, but Alif returned on a bicycle and threatened her, warning her not to tell anyone before leaving again.
The girl was finally found by her friends lying on top of a drain and she had difficulty walking. Alif's girlfriend found out that the victim had pinpointed Alif as the rapist, and she asked Alif about this, but he denied seeing the victim.
He changed his clothes and went to the park where the victim was with her friends and family. He denied raping her, and said he would run away if the police came as he had other pending cases.
He threatened the victim's 54-year-old grandmother and said that if anything happened to him, he would find the victim's family and "harm you". When police officers approached, he fled the scene.
The police went to Alif's girlfriend's home to search for him, but he locked himself inside her bedroom. When the officers broke in, they found him hiding in a wooden cupboard.
After his arrest, Alif misled the police by claiming he was wearing different clothes, so that they would be unable to conduct closed-circuit television footage screenings and forensic testing of his clothes.
He spun a story that he was looking for his girlfriend at the park and had never met the victim that night. A year later, he changed his story to say the victim had come onto him and requested sex.
The victim was taken to a hospital with lacerations on her elbow, abrasions on her knee and tears in her hymen.
She was assessed to have clear symptoms of trauma and had to be treated two to three times a month. Her trauma was triggered whenever she saw other men, and she has flashbacks when she watches movies with rape scenes.
She said she did not want to see Alif in court as it would hurt her too much, but she had to relive the incident when preparing for the trial that Alif originally intended to have.
VICTIM TRAUMATISED
A February 2019 report stated that she still woke up crying from nightmares of Alif and was afraid of going out alone and seeing male strangers. She had to receive counselling to overcome this fear and is reminded of the incident whenever she sees television scenes of drunken men trying to go on top of girls.
She was also unable to be intimate or sustain a relationship with her ex-boyfriend and the incident is likely to affect her subsequent relationships, said Deputy Public Prosecutor Gregory Gan.
Alif was examined at the Institute of Mental Health and found to have no mental illness at the time of the offences. His intelligence is in the borderline range, but he does not suffer from an intellectual disability as he has good adaptive functioning.
Alif pleaded guilty to one count of raping a minor and two counts of sexual assault by penetration of a minor. Another seven charges were considered in sentencing.
Mr Gan called for at least 28 years' jail and 24 strokes of the cane, saying that Alif "callously robbed the victim of her virginity, inflicting grave suffering and distress on her".
"The audio clips as she cried to the various maternal figures in her life make absolutely clear the heart-wrenching trauma she was undergoing as she struggled to make sense of the senseless violence that had just been inflicted upon her," he said, adding that Alif's cruel actions have haunted her since.
Alif has multiple previous convictions starting from 2001, including cheating, robbery and sexual assault. His most recent conviction in 2014 involved snatch theft and sexual assault by penetration. He was given 42 months' jail and three strokes of the cane, but he was not deterred, said Mr Gan.
He added that the girl said she has not found the courage to tell her mother what happened, as it occurred when her mother was in prison. "She does not understand the pain that I am silently suffering every day," the girl said in her victim impact statement.
HE HAS LOW IQ: DEFENCE
Defence lawyer Gloria James-Civetta said she cannot run away from the fact that the offences committed were violent crimes against a young victim, but urged the court to consider 20 years' jail and 24 strokes of the cane.
She said her client has a low IQ and was previously diagnosed with anti-social personality disorder. He had difficulty with complex social situations and making appropriate choices, she said.
"Another factor to consider is - he has been assaulted twice in prison while being remanded and since then he is put in isolation," she said.
In reply, Mr Gan said Alif has no mental illness and knew it was wrong to sexually assault an underage girl. His borderline intelligence did not stop him from committing offences that required guile, such as his previous cheating offences, and he was cunning enough to mislead investigators, he said.
On the assault in remand, Mr Gan said Alif was assaulted by two men in 2017, but emphasised that while the victim's grandmother had written to one of the men, she never told him or anyone to assault Alif.
"So neither the victim nor her grandmother had anything to do with the assault," said Mr Gan, adding that the latest assault on Alif in 2020 was after the two men were no longer there and the assault is "not connected to the present case".
Justice See Kee Oon said Alif had "no discernible indication of remorse all along" but gave him some credit for his plea of guilt, even though he noted that Alif was not cooperative in investigations and tried to frustrate them.
While Alif has a low IQ, he had good adaptive functioning and was able to remain in the school system until he left and gained employment and started a family, said Justice See.
For aggravated rape, the man could have been jailed for between eight and 20 years and given at least 12 strokes of the cane. The maximum penalties for aggravated sexual assault by penetration are the same.
Source: CNA/ll
