https://mothership.sg/2023/08/man-assault-domestic-helper/
Mark Kalaivanan Tamilarasan, a contract worker at Jurong Fishery Port, was found by the court to have sexually assaulted a domestic helper on Jul. 15, 2017, in her employer's residence.
The High Court sentenced a 44-year-old man to 18 years of preventive detention and 12 strokes of the cane on Aug. 7, 2023, after finding him guilty of four charges, including aggravated sexual assault and impersonating a public servant.
Preventive detention, a distinct sentence from imprisonment, is imposed on recalcitrant offenders "who should be detailed in prison for a substantial period of time to protect the public".
He then went up to a nearby residential building to avoid further checks by the police. There, he slid open the bedroom window of an Indonesian domestic helper, waking her up.
Claiming to be from "Immigration", he asked to check her passport and work permit. She alerted her employer, who met Kalaivanan at the front gate. When the employer asked Kalaivanan for identification, he could not produce any and left shortly after.
Kalaivanan then went one floor down to the flat directly below.
As the front door had been left unlocked, he entered the flat and found the household's domestic helper in her room ironing clothes.
Calling himself police, he asked her for her passport, work permit, and money.
After learning her employer was not home, he snatched her phone away and placed it on a cupboard.
He then proceeded to molest and sexually assault her, threatening to use physical force by showing his fist when she resisted.
The domestic helper living upstairs heard the cries for help and recognised the voice. After she told her employer about it, he armed himself with an umbrella and went down to investigate.
Upon hearing a high-pitched voice screaming for help, he stayed outside the flat and called the police, which took around 20 minutes to arrive.
When police arrived at the scene and entered the flat, the victim clung to a policeman's leg and cried.
Kalaivanan then emerged from the bathroom, completely naked, and refused to obey police orders to sit down and explain himself.
When he tried to make a run for it, the police had to subdue him with force and call for backup.
He further claimed to have "intimate relations" with the helper in exchange for sponsoring a Special Pass from the Ministry of Manpower.
Prosecutors called Kalaivanan's defence "wildly inconsistent", pointing out that both the victim and Kalaivanan initially said they had not met before the incident.
However, six months after investigations began, Kalaivanan "drastically changed" his story, saying he had met the victim several times at Orchard Towers and even had sex with her previously.
Prosecutors described his claims as a "brazen concoction" which could not be substantiated, as the victim had never been to Orchard Towers before.
Kalaivanan, in an alternate defence, claimed that he suffered from "erectile problems" due to a previous caning sentence, which was contradicted by medical evidence.
The prosecution highlighted that Kalaivanan gave "chameleon-like evidence", always tailoring his testimony to support his inconsistency-riddled defence.
Justice Pang Khang Chau found Kalaivanan guilty of all his charges.
Pang highlighted that "most alarmingly", Kalaivanan committed his current offences within three years of his release in 2014 after serving a 16-year sentence for aggravated rape and abetment of aggravated rape.
Pang noted that the first preventive detention suitability report noted Kalaivanan's high risk of reoffending, "lack of remorse", "severe denial and minimisation of his sexual offences", and "inability to assume responsibility over his sexual offences".
After Kalaivanan's uncle told the court in a hearing on February 2023 that he observed "expressions of remorse" from Kalaivanan during prison visits "which were not there before", Pang ordered a second preventive detention suitability report.
However, Pang said the second report "found little changes" in Kalaivanan's attitude, with his remorse "largely centered on the potential impact his conviction and sentence would have on him and his family".
Pang explained that to put an offender into preventive detention, the court needs to be satisfied that “it is expedient for the protection of the public that the person should be detained in custody for a substantial period of time”. After considering that Kalaivanan was "beyond the reach of redemption and reformation" and therefore constituted a menace to the public", Pang decided that Kalaivanan should be sentenced to preventive detention.
While Kalaivanan's uncle claimed he had made plans for him to go overseas and live in a missionary home upon release from prison, Pang found the plan "no more than a hope" and was not convinced it could "adequately address the risk of him re-offending and being a menace to the public".
"She has already pictured Mark as to what she wants to feel in her heart," he said while looking at the lead prosecutor. "At the end of the day, he is a human being. Does she understand what is PD 20? Even for a year?"
He also asked if the prosecution "truly believed" Kalaivanan could change to "be so virtuous, so honest," and not do anything wrong after 20 years of prison. He then accused the lead prosecutor of looking at his nephew "like a caged animal".
While Pang said there was no need to respond to the uncle, the lead prosecutor replied: "About the 20 years. Can we guarantee he can change? I actually agree with that."
"That's why we ask for the maximum," she added.
After considering that Kalaivanan had spent six years in remand, Pang exercised his discretion to reduce his preventive detention by two years to 18 years instead, as he noted that the "protraction of the present proceedings" were not all attributable to Kalaivanan.
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Man, 44, enters unlocked flat & sexually assaults domestic helper, gets 18 years’ preventive detention
The man committed the offences within three years of his release after serving a 16-year sentence for aggravated rape.Mark Kalaivanan Tamilarasan, a contract worker at Jurong Fishery Port, was found by the court to have sexually assaulted a domestic helper on Jul. 15, 2017, in her employer's residence.
The High Court sentenced a 44-year-old man to 18 years of preventive detention and 12 strokes of the cane on Aug. 7, 2023, after finding him guilty of four charges, including aggravated sexual assault and impersonating a public servant.
Preventive detention, a distinct sentence from imprisonment, is imposed on recalcitrant offenders "who should be detailed in prison for a substantial period of time to protect the public".
Impersonated an immigration officer, then police
According to court documents, Kalaivanan had been drinking from 10.30pm on Jul. 14, 2017, to 1pm the next day, when he had been spot-checked by police as he was part of a rowdy group.He then went up to a nearby residential building to avoid further checks by the police. There, he slid open the bedroom window of an Indonesian domestic helper, waking her up.
Claiming to be from "Immigration", he asked to check her passport and work permit. She alerted her employer, who met Kalaivanan at the front gate. When the employer asked Kalaivanan for identification, he could not produce any and left shortly after.
Kalaivanan then went one floor down to the flat directly below.
As the front door had been left unlocked, he entered the flat and found the household's domestic helper in her room ironing clothes.
Calling himself police, he asked her for her passport, work permit, and money.
After learning her employer was not home, he snatched her phone away and placed it on a cupboard.
He then proceeded to molest and sexually assault her, threatening to use physical force by showing his fist when she resisted.
The domestic helper living upstairs heard the cries for help and recognised the voice. After she told her employer about it, he armed himself with an umbrella and went down to investigate.
Upon hearing a high-pitched voice screaming for help, he stayed outside the flat and called the police, which took around 20 minutes to arrive.
When police arrived at the scene and entered the flat, the victim clung to a policeman's leg and cried.
Kalaivanan then emerged from the bathroom, completely naked, and refused to obey police orders to sit down and explain himself.
When he tried to make a run for it, the police had to subdue him with force and call for backup.
Claimed to have been intimate with the domestic helper previously
Kalaivanan claimed trial for his offences and claimed he knew the domestic helper.He further claimed to have "intimate relations" with the helper in exchange for sponsoring a Special Pass from the Ministry of Manpower.
Prosecutors called Kalaivanan's defence "wildly inconsistent", pointing out that both the victim and Kalaivanan initially said they had not met before the incident.
However, six months after investigations began, Kalaivanan "drastically changed" his story, saying he had met the victim several times at Orchard Towers and even had sex with her previously.
Prosecutors described his claims as a "brazen concoction" which could not be substantiated, as the victim had never been to Orchard Towers before.
Kalaivanan, in an alternate defence, claimed that he suffered from "erectile problems" due to a previous caning sentence, which was contradicted by medical evidence.
The prosecution highlighted that Kalaivanan gave "chameleon-like evidence", always tailoring his testimony to support his inconsistency-riddled defence.
Justice Pang Khang Chau found Kalaivanan guilty of all his charges.
"A menace to the public": Judge
When delivering his decision on Kalaivanan's sentence on Aug. 7, Pang noted that Kalaivanan had "spent most of his adult life in jail".Pang highlighted that "most alarmingly", Kalaivanan committed his current offences within three years of his release in 2014 after serving a 16-year sentence for aggravated rape and abetment of aggravated rape.
Pang noted that the first preventive detention suitability report noted Kalaivanan's high risk of reoffending, "lack of remorse", "severe denial and minimisation of his sexual offences", and "inability to assume responsibility over his sexual offences".
After Kalaivanan's uncle told the court in a hearing on February 2023 that he observed "expressions of remorse" from Kalaivanan during prison visits "which were not there before", Pang ordered a second preventive detention suitability report.
However, Pang said the second report "found little changes" in Kalaivanan's attitude, with his remorse "largely centered on the potential impact his conviction and sentence would have on him and his family".
Pang explained that to put an offender into preventive detention, the court needs to be satisfied that “it is expedient for the protection of the public that the person should be detained in custody for a substantial period of time”. After considering that Kalaivanan was "beyond the reach of redemption and reformation" and therefore constituted a menace to the public", Pang decided that Kalaivanan should be sentenced to preventive detention.
While Kalaivanan's uncle claimed he had made plans for him to go overseas and live in a missionary home upon release from prison, Pang found the plan "no more than a hope" and was not convinced it could "adequately address the risk of him re-offending and being a menace to the public".
Prosecution asks for maximum term
During the court session on Aug. 7, CNA reported that Kalaivanan's uncle had asked to speak, which Pang permitted."She has already pictured Mark as to what she wants to feel in her heart," he said while looking at the lead prosecutor. "At the end of the day, he is a human being. Does she understand what is PD 20? Even for a year?"
He also asked if the prosecution "truly believed" Kalaivanan could change to "be so virtuous, so honest," and not do anything wrong after 20 years of prison. He then accused the lead prosecutor of looking at his nephew "like a caged animal".
While Pang said there was no need to respond to the uncle, the lead prosecutor replied: "About the 20 years. Can we guarantee he can change? I actually agree with that."
"That's why we ask for the maximum," she added.
After considering that Kalaivanan had spent six years in remand, Pang exercised his discretion to reduce his preventive detention by two years to 18 years instead, as he noted that the "protraction of the present proceedings" were not all attributable to Kalaivanan.
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