Warning: This story contains references to suicide.
SINGAPORE: A man forced a sex act on his mistress’ 21-year-old daughter and attempted to sexually assault her while wielding a hammer and screwdriver.
He attempted suicide four days later citing “guilt and shame” from the offences, but was saved by the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) which deployed an airbag to catch him.
After recovering from his injuries in hospital, the man absconded and remained at large for four years before he was arrested in 2021.
The 58-year-old Singaporean was sentenced on Wednesday (Jun 19) to five years and 10 months’ jail.
He cannot be named due to a gag order protecting the victim’s identity, which extends also to his identity.
He pleaded guilty to one count each of aggravated molestation and attempted aggravated sexual assault by penetration, with another five charges including attempted suicide taken into consideration.
Although the offence of attempted suicide has since been decriminalised, the man was charged with it as the offence took place in 2017 before the law was repealed.
WHAT HAPPENED IN 2017
According to the defence lawyer, the married man, his mistress and her 21-year-old daughter lived together in a one-room flat.
On Apr 25, 2017, the woman’s daughter was alone in the flat when the offender returned home drunk.
He retrieved a screwdriver and hammer before sitting on the victim’s stomach and telling her that he had been wanting to engage in sexual activities with her.
Shocked, the victim made excuses to leave and managed to enter the washroom. However, her mother’s boyfriend followed her in, still holding the two weapons.
He forced a sex act on her and attempted to sexually assault her.
The victim pushed him away and said she would not tell anyone what happened, which persuaded the man to let her go.
She later confided in a relative, who lodged a police report.
Four days later on Apr 29, 2017, the man attempted suicide from the 12th storey of a building but landed on an airbag deployed by SCDF. This forms one of the charges taken into consideration.
According to his lawyer Wee Hong Shern, the man was hospitalised and asked to return to the police station thereafter, but he absconded.
A police gazette was put up in October 2017 to trace his whereabouts, but he evaded arrest until June 2021.
SENTENCING ARGUMENTS
The prosecution sought a jail term of between six years and four months and six years and 10 months.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Cheng You Duen noted how the man had seized the opportunity when the victim’s mother was not around and had no recourse for help.
The man had also used a screwdriver and hammer, which caused a significant level of fear of hurt, and the offences took place over a prolonged period of about three hours.
The offender also has previous convictions which include robbery with hurt caused.
Mr Wee sought a jail term of five years and 12 weeks instead, saying his client had tried to seek forgiveness from the victim and her mother. However, the woman hung up the call once she realised who it was.
The lawyer said his client was “overwhelmed with lust” upon seeing the victim in a compromising position and felt such guilt and shame that he attempted to take his own life.
He said his client was waiting to recover from his injuries and “did not have courage” to report back to the police station after recovering.
Attempted suicide under Section 309 of the Penal Code was an offence in Singapore until 2020, when it was decriminalised. Before that, it was punishable by a jail term of up to a year, a fine, or both.