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Doctor who allegedly attacked girlfriend for refusing sex claimed he couldn’t recall incident

Doctor Clarence Teo Shun Jie on trial for attacking girlfriend Rachel Lim En Hui. PHOTO: Rachel Lim
Doctor Clarence Teo Shun Jie on trial for attacking girlfriend Rachel Lim En Hui. PHOTO: Rachel Lim

SINGAPORE — A doctor on trial for violently assaulting his then-girlfriend after she allegedly refused sex with him claimed that he could not remember the incident.

The attack by Clarence Teo Shun Jie, 35, left Rachel Lim En Hui, 27, with multiple severe facial fractures that required plastic surgery.

On the second day of the trial, Teo testified that he only remembered engaging in sex with Lim in his room and being arrested later. He then claimed to have woken in a cell, not knowing where he was, adding that he vaguely recalled Lim had earlier given him sleeping pills.

Teo is facing a charge of causing grievous hurt to Lim at his Redhill flat between 2am and 4.12am on 27 August 2017. He is also accused of wrongfully confining Lim in his bedroom and preventing her from leaving that morning.

Three other assault charges relating to incidents involving Lim on 12 and 30 March 2017 have been stood down for the trial.

Teo told the court that he met Lim in early 2017 through the dating app Coffee Meets Bagel and they later became a couple.

On average, the couple would meet about two to three times a week, including weekends when Lim would stay over with Teo, he added.

Describing their relationship, Teo said it was characterised by their “mental disorders”.

Lim confided that she had been admitted to the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) and was on medication for bipolar disorder, said Teo. The medication included Quetiapine, an antipsychotic drug, and Zopiclone, a drug to treat insomnia.

In turn, Teo had told her about his alcoholism and how he had lost his job. He had also wandered the streets of Vietnam while drunk, and drunk-called his army commanding officer to scold him, according to his testimony.

“I told her all these things...I told her about my borderline personality disorder diagnosis. I saw a psychiatrist back in 2011 or 2012 when I was having problems controlling my temper.” However, Teo’s psychiatrist then said he did not want to treat the condition as a medical problem as it might have jeopardised the doctor’s fledgling career.

While dating, the couple would support each other and they would be “very happy”, Teo recounted, adding that they had planned for a trip to Europe and booked flight tickets.

The couple would, however, have heated arguments over “really ridiculous things” and “small things” due to their psychiatric issues, Teo told the court.

On Lim’s testimony on Monday, Teo said he was “very surprised” to hear her saying she was unaware of her bipolar disorder. Her condition was mentioned many times in their text conversations, according to Teo.

On 27 August 2017, the two had met for dinner before going for a karaoke session. Lim ordered alcohol, claiming that it could help her sleep and sing, said Teo. He also helped himself to the alcohol placed in two buckets, but did not state how much he drank.

After the karaoke session, the couple headed to a Thai disco where they consumed more alcohol. Teo claimed that they left and headed to his home, with Lim performing a sex act on him in the car while he was driving.

“I recall having sex in my room then the next thing I know, the next memory I really have was I remember some people arresting me and handcuffing me,” he said. “I woke in a cell, and I remember not knowing where I was.”

Someone in the cell then told Teo that he was in the Police Cantonment Complex before he was brought around to have his blood sample and photo taken. He later told a female officer in a statement that he did not remember anything and begged to go home.

After he was bailed out, Teo returned to his room where he saw a bottle of pills and vaguely recalled that Lim had offered him some on the night of the incident.

Asked by his lawyer Tan Hee Jeok whether he had taken Zopiclone before the day of the incident, Teo replied that Lim had given him the medication once before when he was agitated and drunk. Lim later told Teo that he became a “peaceful cat” after taking the medication, he added.

On another occasion, Lim had given Teo Quetiapine. But the medication had an opposite effect on Teo, causing him to scream at her through the phone, he said, adding that it led to Lim filing a first police report against him.

Teo claimed that he stopped drinking a month after the incident, and has been attending Alcoholics Anonymous meetings regularly.

His trial continues on Wednesday, with the prosecution due to cross examine him.

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