SINGAPORE: After a night of drinking with his girlfriend and another couple – both of which were his friends – a man took the female friend home and tried to rape her on his girlfriend’s bed.
The 39-year-old man, who cannot be named, pleaded guilty on Monday (Jan 15) to one count of attempted rape, with two counts of molest taken into consideration for his sentencing, which has been adjourned to Thursday.
His details have been redacted from court documents due to a gag order protecting the 29-year-old victim’s identity. Both are Philippines nationals and got to know each other in their homeland before coming to work in Singapore.
The court heard that on the evening of Apr 1, 2019, the accused, his then-girlfriend, the victim and her boyfriend consumed a large amount of alcohol at 1-Altitude Bar.
The two women got “very drunk” and took turns vomiting at the bar. They were assisted to a taxi stand by the two men after leaving the bar at about 1am on Apr 2, 2019.
They managed to board a Grab car but the victim vomited. So the group alighted and compensated the driver.
After a while, the group managed to get a taxi, which the victim boarded with the help of a female passer-by. The accused also boarded this taxi, which left his girlfriend and the victim’s boyfriend behind.
The taxi proceeded to the accused’s home. During the journey, the accused groped the victim over her clothing. Intoxicated, the victim drifted in and out of consciousness.
Upon reaching home, the man helped the woman to his unit and placed her on his girlfriend’s bed, where the victim fell asleep. He molested her again even as the woman woke and tried to resist him.
Between 3am and 5am, the man tried to rape the victim, who foiled his attempted. The accused then got dressed and left the room. At around 5am, the victim’s boyfriend arrived at the unit and brought her home.
After the incident, the victim confided in her close friends and sought help as she was having nightmares and panic attacks in the two to three months after the incident.
She lodged a police report on May 27, 2019 and received counselling until July that year.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Emily Koh sought five years’ jail and six strokes of the cane for the accused, highlighting two aggravating factors.
Ms Koh said that victim was vulnerable as she was intoxicated and that the accused had violated the trust imposed in him as a close friend.
The accused’s lawyer, Mr Raphael Louis, disagreed that these was an abuse of the close friendship or trust.
He said that it was a joint decision for the group to have drinks, not a situation that his client had planned from the start.
Alcohol clouded the group’s judgement and they did not manage to get into the same taxi, resulting in the victim getting into the vehicle instead of the man’s then-girlfriend, said Mr Louis.
For attempted rape, the man faces a jail term of up to 20 years and fine or caning.