logo
Two men convicted of sexually assaulting woman in hotel; judge rejects consensual sex defence

Two men convicted of sexually assaulting woman in hotel; judge rejects consensual sex defence

CNA12 hours ago
SINGAPORE: Two men have been convicted of raping or sexually assaulting a woman in a hotel room, with the judge rejecting their argument that the sex had been consensual.
The first man, 50, was an ex-colleague of the victim. He was convicted of one charge each of molestation, sexual assault and obstructing justice.
The second man, 51, had been friends with the first accused for about 20 years and they had previously engaged in a threesome together. He was convicted of six charges including rape, sexual assault, possessing an intimate image and obstructing justice.
The pair, both foreign nationals, cannot be named due to a gag order by the court preventing the publication of key information including their professions, nationalities and other details that might identify the victim.
The woman had passed out after drinking with the two men, both veterans in her industry, on Feb 26, 2023. This was after the ex-colleague invited her to his hotel room ahead of a planned dinner that never happened.
THE WOMAN'S ACCOUNT
The woman testified that she had agreed to go up to the hotel room to drop off some sparkling water her ex-colleague had asked her to buy.
She also saw it as a networking opportunity. When she got there, she was offered alcohol and drank it while having casual conversation such as chatting about hawker places in Singapore.
She said she was asked to drink her glass of gin mix in a "bottoms up" fashion to catch up since the two men had already been drinking all afternoon.
When she did so, the older man told her: "When you bottom up, if you don't look the person into the eye, you'll have seven years' bad sex."
The woman testified about feeling surprised at this as it was the first time she heard such a thing. She described feeling uncomfortable when the discussion turned sexual and she was asked intimate questions about her boyfriends past and present.
She said she did not leave the room as she thought it would be impolite, and did not see any risk of harm as she had a prior professional and amicable relationship with one of them.
As the drinking went on, her ex-colleague said the restaurant they had booked for dinner had probably given the reserved table away. She said they could go elsewhere but preferred to go to the original eatery.
Around this time, the woman said the men asked her "white wine or red wine?" before plying her with alcohol.
After this, her hands started shaking from the amount of alcohol she had consumed and she vomited on the bed before losing consciousness. She began drifting in and out of consciousness and this was her last clear memory.
She next remembered vomiting into the sink before sexual acts occurred. She recalled saying "no, no, no" many times but could not move or open her eyes.
When she woke up at about 7.45am on Feb 27, 2023, she found blood stains on her underwear and felt weird, suspecting she had been raped. She went to a hospital to get herself medically checked and the hospital later lodged a police report.
The prosecution had argued at trial that the two men sexually assaulted the victim knowing full well that she did not consent.
The older man took a photo of the woman while she was naked, and without her knowledge, and the two men conspired to obstruct justice by deleting incriminating messages, said the prosecution.
The men had admitted to the sexual acts in video-recorded interview statements to the police, and forensic evidence supports the victim's account, said the prosecutors.
They added that the men had offered no explanation why the woman would otherwise have accused them of rape.
JUDGE ACCEPTS VICTIM'S ACCOUNT
The men contested the charges, but Justice Hoo Sheau Peng found that the prosecution had proved its case, in a judgment released on Tuesday (Jul 22).
She found the victim firm in her evidence, providing a textured narration of events and not attempting to embellish evidence for bits she found "patchy".
Justice Hoo agreed with the prosecution that the woman's conduct at the time was consistent with her account.
First, after fully regaining consciousness and forming the view that she had been raped, the victim checked the bin for condoms and repeatedly asked one of the men what had happened.
When she returned to the hotel room, she searched online for what to do if she had been raped, the legal consequences of rape, as well as the police's phone number in Singapore.
She also visited the hospital once she could to make sure her body was "alright" and made a conscious effort not to wash up in order to preserve evidence.
She also tried arranging to meet her ex-colleague to hear his explanation of the night's events.
Justice Hoo said the woman's actions all cohere logically with her account of the events, and this is significant as it strikes at the defence's arguments that the woman's account was reconstructed and not based on her recollection.
The woman's evidence also cohered with other evidence such as the statements of the two men, closed-circuit television footage from the hotel and the woman's medical examination.
MEN'S ACCOUNTS "INCREDIBLE": JUDGE
In contrast, Justice Hoo found the ex-colleague's account of the sexual activities "incredible". The man had said that not a single word was uttered by any of them throughout the long series of acts, despite saying earlier that the trio had engaged in a "hearty and long conversation".
Justice Hoo also found the deleted texts the ex-colleague had sent to his accomplice an indication of his guilt.
She found that the accomplice had shown himself "not to be a credible witness", saying his account of events in a few instances "was simply beyond belief".
After the incident, the ex-colleague made Google searches on his laptop for prompts including "do fingers in (vagina) leave dna", "what leaves dna in vagina after sexual activity" and "does shower after sex reduce dna testing".
The accomplice had also performed searches online after the incident, such as "trick questions in rape cases" and "polygraph test tips", and visited a webpage titled "Interview Strategies for Sexual Assault and Rape Investigations".
"These online searches betray the accused persons' guilty minds," said the judge, adding this was further evidenced by their "incredible explanations for the searches".
The victim's ex-colleague was represented by a team from Withers KhattarWong led by Mr Chenthil Kumarasingam, who argued that the acts had occurred with the victim's consent, or that the man was mistaken as to the consent.
Mr Kumarasingam had argued that if the woman felt uncomfortable when the conversation turned sexual, she would have said so or left the room.
Justice Hoo said this ignores the seniority of the two men in the profession in relation to the victim. It also ignores the fact that her ex-colleague was formerly her superior, and that she respected him and treated him as an elder member in a family.
The older man was defended by Mr Eugene Thuraisingam and Mr Johannes Hadi. Mr Thuraisingam argued that the victim was not unconscious during the sex acts. Instead, she was conscious and consented to the acts, but could not remember doing so due to partial alcohol-induced memory loss.
Both men's defence teams argued that the woman had forgotten about the consent she had given to the sexual acts due to the alcohol she had consumed.
Justice Hoo rejected this, finding the victim to be an unusually convincing witness, and that there was clearly no valid consent on her part to any sexual activity.
She also rejected the men's respective accounts of the events surrounding the sex. She said the accounts were "replete with issues" and that the men had failed to show that the woman validly consented to, or appeared to have consented to the acts.
There was no valid consent, or possible appearance of consent, to the sexual activities, she concluded.
The men will be sentenced at a later date.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Trump may travel to China to meet Xi in ‘not-too-distant future'
Trump may travel to China to meet Xi in ‘not-too-distant future'

Straits Times

time2 hours ago

  • Straits Times

Trump may travel to China to meet Xi in ‘not-too-distant future'

Find out what's new on ST website and app. US President Donald Trump (centre) was speaking on July 22, during a White House meeting with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr (left). WASHINGTON - US President Donald Trump said on July 22 that he may visit China soon for a landmark trip to address simmering trade and security tensions between the superpower rivals. 'President Xi has invited me to China, and we'll probably be doing that in the not-too-distant future,' Mr Trump told reporters in the White House's Oval Office. 'A little bit out, but not too distant. And I've been invited by a lot of people, and we'll make those decisions pretty soon.' Mr Trump and Mr Xi's aides have discussed a potential meeting between the leaders during a trip by the US president to Asia later this year, Reuters has reported, citing two people familiar with the plans. While plans for a meeting have not been finalised, discussions on both sides of the Pacific have included a possible Trump stopover around the time of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in South Korea or talks on the sidelines of the Oct 30-Nov 1 event, the people said. Another possible trip would be for a Sept 3 Beijing ceremony commemorating the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, which Russian President Vladimir Putin also plans to attend. Meetings between Mr Trump and Mr Xi or Mr Putin would be the first face-to-face encounters between the men since Mr Trump's inauguration on Jan 20 for his second term in office. The White House and the Chinese Foreign Affairs Ministry have declined to comment on the Reuters report. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore Two found dead after fire in Toa Payoh flat Singapore Singaporeans aged 21 to 59 can claim $600 SG60 vouchers from July 22 Singapore Singaporeans continue to hold world's most powerful passport in latest ranking Singapore Singapore, Vietnam agree to step up defence ties, dialogue between leaders Asia Malaysia govt's reform pledge tested as DAP chief bows over unresolved 2009 death of political aide Tech Singapore to increase pool of early adopters in AI to complement data scientists, engineers Singapore Prosecution says judge who acquitted duo of bribing ex-LTA official had copied defence arguments Singapore Ports and planes: The 2 Singapore firms helping to keep the world moving Global rivals Mr Trump made the comment about meeting Mr Xi during a meeting with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, a key Pacific ally who Mr Trump said he had nudged away from China. 'The country was maybe tilting toward China for a period of time, but we un-tilted it very, very quickly,' Mr Trump said. Mr Trump added: 'I don't mind if he gets along with China because we're getting along with China very well.' Mr Marcos, who took office in 2022, has for years sought US support as his country's maritime disputes worsen with China. Manila has sought to avoid direct confrontation with its larger neighbour, which claims most of the South China Sea as its own territory. The US and the Philippines have a seven-decade-old collective defence treaty, potentially implicating Washington in a clash between China and the Philippines. Washington sees Beijing as its key strategic rival globally. Upon taking office, Mr Trump launched a tit-for-tat tariff war with China that has upended global trade and supply chains. Other points of friction between the countries include China's support for Russia, the illicit opioid trade, China's growing pressure on Taiwan and exit bans on some American residents. In recent weeks, Mr Trump has sought to lower tensions, describing his personal relations with Mr Xi as healthy. A 2019 photo shows US President Donald Trump meeting Chinese President Xi Jinping at a G-20 leaders summit in Japan. PHOTO: REUTERS Mr Trump has sought to impose tariffs on virtually all foreign goods, including both China and US allies in Asia like the Philippines. He says this will stimulate domestic manufacturing, but critics say many consumer goods will become more expensive for Americans. The president has called for a universal base tariff rate of 10 per cent on goods imported from all countries, with higher rates for some. Imports from China have the highest tariff rate of 55 per cent. Mr Trump has set a deadline of Aug 12 for the US and China to reach a durable tariff agreement. REUTERS

Man reconsiders BTO plans after wife repeatedly lied about using male online streaming app and spending over S$3k on virtual gifts
Man reconsiders BTO plans after wife repeatedly lied about using male online streaming app and spending over S$3k on virtual gifts

Independent Singapore

time7 hours ago

  • Independent Singapore

Man reconsiders BTO plans after wife repeatedly lied about using male online streaming app and spending over S$3k on virtual gifts

SINGAPORE: A man shared on social media that he is now having second thoughts about applying for a (Build-to-Order) BTO flat with his wife after she repeatedly lied about using a male online streaming app and spending over S$3,000 on virtual gifts. On Monday (Jul 21), he took to the r/SingaporeRaw subreddit to seek advice. In his post, he said that when he first caught her sending expensive gifts to male singers from China, she dismissed his concerns and deleted both the app and her messaging accounts so that he 'could not see their conversations.' He also discovered that she had been spending close to S$300 on each transaction to send virtual gifts to the male streamers, and as his job sometimes requires him to travel overseas, he started to worry that one of the streamers might use the opportunity to approach her in person while he was gone. His wife, however, brushed off his worries. She reassured him that nothing like that would ever happen and promised that she would stop using the app and spending money on it entirely. Still, worried that his wife might return to the streaming platform, the man turned to a trusted female friend who was familiar with the online community. He asked her to help monitor whether his wife would become active again, as he no longer felt confident checking on his own without causing further conflict at home. Unfortunately, just a few days later, the friend reported troubling news. His wife had created a new sub-account under a different username and had resumed both watching the male streamers and sending virtual gifts. He confronted his wife once more. This time, she admitted that she had re-downloaded the app and was using it again, but insisted she had not topped up any money. She claimed she was only watching casually and had no intention of spending on it. However, that, too, turned out to be untrue. According to his friend, the account was actively making payments, and the amount being spent was much bigger this time. 'At this point, she admitted to me that she spent slightly less than S$2k, all in the span of two weeks,' he shared. 'We had another huge quarrel, and she promised to quit, as I said I wanted a divorce and custody of the kids.' However, the cycle repeated itself. Just days later, his friend informed him that yet another account had appeared. Although his wife initially denied it, she later admitted the truth when he caught her himself and confirmed that she was indeed the one using that account. The man said that this time, his wife had spent another S$1,000. 'This time round, I did not budge, I insisted to have a divorce and she broke down, begging me to stay. At that point of time, I wanted to leave the house, she threatened to E her lif4 if I chose to leave this marriage,' he said. 'I had no choice but to stay. All these happen in the span of three weeks, from the start of her downloading the app till this date,' he wrote. See also Hyerim shows off wedding invitation card designed by friends The man added that although he wanted to give their marriage another chance, his wife's repeated dishonesty had completely broken his trust. 'We have been married for the past 7-8 years since 2018. We now have 2 kids, aged 5 and 3, and a flat(resale) as well…but I find it very hard to continue this marriage,' he wrote. 'I did try to carry on for the kids and gave her many chances.. but I also feel that carrying on is pointless, even though I do love her, but I do not think I can cope another lie of hers.' He ended his post by asking others if they had faced similar situations, and whether it was time to walk away. 'Can any of the fellow redditors help a fellow Singaporean out in this? I would really appreciate for any advice or thoughts. I am really feeling helpless and loss in this situation,' he wrote. 'Divorce her and save your kids that trauma.' In the thread, many Singaporean Redditors felt that the man had already given his wife more than enough chances and urged him to leave before things got worse. One told him, 'She sounds like she has no remorse and is unrepentant. You might wanna cut your losses while you're still young. The kids shouldn't be learning from a parent like her.' Another commented, 'Hi, coming from a dad whose addiction to alcohol made my childhood a living nightmare, divorce her and save your kids that trauma. I understand that you love your wife and want to believe/rebulid a relationship with her, but the moment you first hesitated to apply a BTO with her, ask yourself why did you hesitate.' A third wrote, 'If you have any pride as a man, you would divorce her.' Still, not everyone advocated for separation. A handful of Redditors suggested that the man explore professional help before making any final decisions. One said, 'Go to an expert. Make an appointment with a marriage counsellor. Get her some additional help for her addiction, too. This is not a situation where you should fully rely on answers from strangers online. Reference, yes, but don't take any of it at face value. I hope you can work this out.' In other news, a man took to Reddit to share that his brother is being worked to the bone under a gruelling new shift system that is taking a toll on his health and sleep. Posting on r/askSingapore on Thursday (Jul 17), the man explained that his brother was already working long hours from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Recently, however, his company introduced a new shift system that now forces him to return for additional late-night work. According to him, his brother is now required to return to work on certain nights from 10 p.m. to 2:30 a.m. and sometimes even as late as 6 a.m. Read more: 'His whole body clock is gone': Man shares his brother's company makes him work from 10 pm to 6 am once or twice a week, and it's destroying his health Featured image by freepik (for illustration purposes only)

Two dead after fire breaks out in Toa Payoh flat
Two dead after fire breaks out in Toa Payoh flat

CNA

time7 hours ago

  • CNA

Two dead after fire breaks out in Toa Payoh flat

SINGAPORE: Two people died after a fire broke out in a flat at Block 173 Toa Payoh Lorong 1 on Tuesday (Jul 22), the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said. SCDF said in a Facebook post it was alerted to the fire at about 7.30pm. 'Upon arrival, the living room of a second-floor unit was on fire. Firefighters entered the smoke-filled unit and extinguished the fire with a water jet,' SCDF said. During firefighting operations, firefighters found two unresponsive people inside the unit. Both were brought out and were pronounced dead at the scene by a paramedic. The cause of the fire is under investigation, SCDF said.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store