Man who assaulted 3 women after they refused sex on different occasions jailed
SINGAPORE — He responded to a sex advertisement on a classifieds website and offered to pay $5,000 to a girl selling her virginity.
However, when warehouse assistant Abdul Rahman A Karim met the girl in a hotel, he refused her request to pay upfront and beat her up.
It was not the first time Rahman had assaulted a woman - he had previously committed the same acts with two other women who refused to have sex with him.
The 35-year-old Singaporean was sentenced to six months and four weeks jail on Wednesday (15 May). Rahman was originally charged with aggravated rape but pleaded guilty to reduced charges of voluntarily causing hurt on Wednesday.
None of the women can be named to protect their identities.
The first assault
In the first case of physical abuse, Rahman assaulted a 21-year-old woman in November 2017. He met her through an advertisement on Locanto, where the pub singer advertised sexual services.
Rahman contacted the girl at the end of November and agreed to pay her $800 for two sessions of sex.
When the duo met at the void deck on 29 November, Rahman claimed to have forgotten his money. He asked the woman to accompany him to a flat which he claimed was his residence.
They took a lift to the 12th floor and proceeded down a staircase. At the staircase landing, Rahman kissed the woman’s neck and molested her. The woman pushed him away and demanded that he pay her first. Rahman replied that he did not have the money on him and continued to hug and kiss her.
“The woman then pushed (Rahman) away as she was not happy about the non-payment and was worried that he might not pay her,” Deputy Public Prosecutor Sarah Ong told the court.
During the ensuing dispute, Rahman punched the woman’s face and stomach.
The woman retaliated by hitting Rahman on the back twice and shouted for help. Rahman assaulted the woman on the head four to five times before fleeing. The woman then called the police.
The woman had bruises on her face. Her nose, which had previously undergone reconstructive surgery due to an unrelated incident, became crooked as a result. She had another nose reconstruction in Bangkok in December 2017.
Rahman was arrested on 30 November 2017 and placed on bail.
Two more women assaulted
However, he went on to use violence on two other women who rejected him.
One of the victims, an 18-year-old student, posted an advertisement on Locanto selling her virginity to the “highest bidder” in July last year.
Rahman responded and offered $5,000. The girl agreed and arranged to meet Rahman at Aljunied MRT. Rahman agreed to pay her before sex.
The two met on 20 August last year and proceeded to a hotel where each showered separately. The girl, dressed in a towel, then asked Rahman for payment. However, Rahman refused and kissed the girl.
The girl pushed Rahman away, before the latter punched her on her head. He then flung her onto the bed before the girl began screaming for help.
Rahman covered her mouth and punched the girl another three to four more times on her head as the girl struggled.
Rahman, who was undressed, then asked the girl for oral sex but the girl continued shouting for help.
As Rahman went to get dressed, the girl ran out of the room naked and hid behind a dustbin while shouting for help. A female occupant from another room assisted the girl, who was crying and shivering. After the occupant saw that Rahman had left the room, the girl retrieved her clothes and called the police.
The girl sustained bruises on her left ear.
Earlier that year, Rahman also punched a 32-year-old woman he had met through a mobile application.
The two met on 30 January last year before proceeding to a hotel. After chatting for a while, Rahman kissed the woman. The woman changed her mind about having sex and said she wanted to go home.
Upset, Rahman argued with her. He grabbed the woman’s arm as she tried to leave and punched her on the left side of her ribcage after an argument.
The woman managed to calm Rahman down and decided to have sexual intercourse with him. As Rahman was undressing however, the woman called the reception to report the assault, prompting Rahman to hit her on the left jaw.
After Rahman calmed down, the pair had sex before Rahman left. The woman made a police report later. She sustained swelling and bruises on her body.
‘Violence to get what he wants’
While hearing submissions, District Judge Christopher Tan Pheng Wee noted that Rahman had used violence thrice under similar circumstances, adding that his offending appeared to have a modus operandi.
“It doesn’t strike me that he had any intention to pay... It’s almost like cheating but he uses violence to carry the scheme through. When the women does not fall for the scheme, he switches to violence to get what he wants,” said the judge.
In response, Rahman’s lawyer, Deya Dubey denied that Rahman had a modus operandi. “He was not hitting to get a service. They got into an argument and he hit them in a moment of blind rage,” said the pro bono lawyer, who was appointed by the Criminal Legal Aid Scheme.
He asked for four months’ jail for his client.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Sarah Ong sought a sentence of at least 12 months’ jail, noting that Rahman showed a “disturbing pattern of behaviour where he resorted to beating up woman when they refuse sex on his terms”.
For voluntarily causing hurt, the man could have have been jailed up to two years and/or fined up to $5,000 on each count.
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