Youth who raped intoxicated teen after 'truth or dare' game gets 9 years' jail, caning

SINGAPORE — A youth who raped an inebriated 15-year-old girl after a game of “truth or dare” was sentenced to nine years’ jail and nine strokes of the cane on Monday (27 July).

The perpetrator, who is now aged 22, had first pleaded guilty last October but later retracted his plea. He then found a new lawyer before pleading guilty again on Monday to one charge of rape.

Seven other charges, including counts for sexually assaulting the victim and helping his 21-year-old friend’s attempt to rape her, were taken into consideration for his sentencing. The case against the 21-year-old has yet to be resolved.

Both men cannot be named to protect the identity of the victim, a Singapore permanent resident who is now 18.

Assaulted at void deck

Sometime in August or September 2017, the victim got to know the two aforementioned men – both waiters at the time – along with two of their male friends.

At about 1am on 17 October that year, the victim joined three of the men at a coffee shop in Pasir Ris where they consumed alcohol. The victim felt assured at the time by the fact that one of the men appeared to be protective of her. They were later joined by the perpetrator, who was then 19.

The group left for a nearby void deck at some point, where they continued drinking. The victim then took part in a game of “truth or dare”, which involved her being asked questions of a sexual nature.

Each time she refused to answer certain questions, she was made to drink more beer as a forfeit. In total, she consumed at least four cans of beer.

While the girl was having a private conversation with the man she was closest to, one of the other men asked the perpetrator and co-accused whether they wanted to have sex with her.

Although they thought of the question as a joke, the co-accused went to purchase three condoms from a nearby provision shop. He then passed the perpetrator a condom upon returning.

As the accused said she wanted to go home, the group headed towards a HDB block in Pasir Ris Central. Unable to walk, the victim was piggybacked by the other men.

At around 4.05am, she felt the urge to urinate and did so at a corner at the foot of a block along Pasir Ris Street 51. The perpetrator and co-accused waited nearby for her, while the other two men walked ahead.

Feeling the urge to vomit, the girl then lay down near where she had urinated and became unresponsive.

Both the perpetrator and co-accused then molested the girl before the perpetrator raped her.

One of the men who had walked ahead later called the co-accused to find out where they were. However, the latter ignored the calls and texted back to say that victim was vomiting.

The co-accused also attempted to rape the girl, but could not. Throughout the series of sexual assaults, the girl drifted in and out of consciousness and was aware of the men’s actions. She tried to fend them off but was too weak.

After their acts, the two men ensured the victim was fully dressed before they called one of the other men for assistance. The man later arrived at the scene and the two accused persons left. The girl then revealed she had been raped.

The co-accused was called back, and the victim confronted and slapped him. The co-accused was talked out of retaliating and later put all of the blame for the sexual assault on the perpetrator.

Police officers on patrol came across the group and approached them as the girl was crying. While the girl did not immediately tell police officers what had happened, she later called the police again as she was angry that the co-accused continued to deny his offences.

Both the perpetrator and co-accused were later arrested.

Victims’ trauma ‘amplified’

Submitting for a sentence of at least 10 years’ jail and 12 strokes of the cane, the prosecution said that the gravity of the accused person’s offending was “exacerbated by the fact that he violated the victim together with the co-accused”.

“Although the victim was drifting in and out of consciousness, she was fully aware that both of them were violating her at the material time and this could only have amplified the trauma she experienced,” said Deputy Public Prosecutors Winston Man and Lim Ying Min, who added that group rape was an aggravating factor.

The victim was also vulnerable as she was utterly helpless as she was being violated, said the DPPs.

The prosecution added that it took into account the fact that the accused was a young offender and had demonstrated remorse by pleading guilty.

For rape, the man could have been jailed up to 20 years, as well as fined or caned.

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