Man who punched, sexually assaulted teen during first date jailed 9 years, 8 months
For their first and only date, he took her to a movie, after which the pair spent hours talking at a barbecue pit.
Their outing took a dark turn, however, when he spotted a photo of her ex-boyfriend on her phone and she claimed that she still at feelings for him.
Angered by the revelation, 28-year-old Samir Rukiman later hit the 17-year-old victim and smashed her mobile phone. While attempting to apologise for the abuse, he then began molesting her and forced her to perform oral sex on him.
At the State Courts on Thursday (28 June) Samir was sentenced to nine years and eight months’ jail along with four strokes of the cane after admitting to one count of aggravated sexual assault, one count of molest and one count of possessing methamphetamine.
The rope access technician had one related charge each for molesting and voluntarily causing hurt to the victim taken into consideration along with a number of unrelated charges, including those for possessing obscene films and committing mischief.
The victim, now aged 19, cannot be named due to a court-imposed gag order.
Date turned sour
The court heard that Samir first contacted the victim on 1 May last year by asking her to add him as a friend over Facebook. The two had never met prior to that point.
He began chatting with her and the pair eventually exchanged phone numbers. After a week of texting one another, the victim considered Samir to be a friend.
The two met in person for the first time at Waterway Point on 7 May after Samir asked her out for a movie that night. After the show, the two visited a barbecue pit around Block 119A Rivervale Drive, where they chatted late into the night.
At around 2am, noticed that the victim had a photo of herself and another man as her mobile phone’s wallpaper. He asked her about the picture and the victim identified the other man as her ex-boyfriend and said that she still had feelings for him.
Upon hearing this, Samir’s attitude soured abruptly and the two sat in silence for an hour while Samir simmered with anger. During this time, the victim texted her friend to express her discomfort at being alone with Samir.
At one point, Samir left but returned while the victim was speaking to her friend over the phone. When the victim told her friend that she thought Samir might slap her, Samir flared up and began shouting at her.
He punched the victim’s face several times, bruising her head, then snatched her mobile phone and smashed it on the ground.
The victim then began to cry. Even though she was in pain and afraid, she tried to calm Samir down.
“(The victim) was shocked that the accused had suddenly changed from a nice guy to an angry one and was fearful of the violent outburst,” said Deputy Public Prosecutor Gail Wong.
“She did not dare to run away or shout as she thought that this may trigger further violence.”
About half an hour later, Samir apologised to the victim by hugging her and wiping away her tears. As he was doing so, he placed his hand on her buttocks, causing the victim to immediately push him away.
Samir then asked the victim if she was afraid of him and the girl replied that she was. After a short exchange, Samir hugged the victim again and molested her once more.
He then forced the victim to perform oral sex on him. After the act, the victim turned away to cry while Samir rested his head on her thigh.
Samir left the location at around 5am and the victim approached a passer-by for help. The police were then called, and Samir was traced and arrested.
The prosecution sought a nine years and 10 months’ jail along with four strokes of the cane for Samir. Wong said Samir had used force on the victim to outrage her modesty and exploited her vulnerability and immaturity.
She pointed out that the violence had escalated between 2am to 5am, adding that the victim felt helpless to deal with it. Samir had also caused the girl a degree of trauma and exposed her to sexual diseases. Samir was last convicted in 2013 for violent crimes.
Samir’s lawyer argued for a jail sentence of around seven years and six months and four strokes of the cane, considering Samir’s early plea of guilt as a mitigating factor.
District Judge Ng Peng Hong noted that Samir had taken advantage of a vulnerable person and the offence was serious.
For sexual assault by penetration, Samir could have received up to 20 years’ jail along with a fine and caning.
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