A DISTRICT judge sentenced a rapist to 11 years’ jail and eight strokes of the cane yesterday, saying he was horrified by what the man did.
The man, who said he had been chased out of his own home in late 2005, was taken in by his then 18-year-old fiancee’s family, who offered him food and shelter.
He broke up with her, but turned his attentions on her younger sister, kissing and touching the child inappropriately.
Finally, he raped the 13-year-old in December 2006, terrorising the family for more than seven hours and telling her mother that God wanted him to have the child as his wife.
The man is appealing against the conviction and sentence for aggravated molestation and rape.
His divorced parents posted the $100,000 bail for him.
District Judge Low Wee Ping said he was horrified to hear the evidence from the prosecution’s witnesses, particularly that of the victim, her mother and the man’s ex-fiancee.
Judge Low said: “It was, I would describe, a day of terror for the family starting at 2pm and ending at 9.15pm, when you raped the victim.
“The manner in which you pronounced your offences to her mother horrified me. You claimed that it was God’s will. You claimed that, therefore, the victim needed to be your wife.”
The man, now 25, remained expressionless in the dock as he was being sentenced.
He cannot be named to protect the identity of the victim, now 17.
The court heard that on Dec 28, 2006, the victim was in her room when she heard the accused and her mother argue.
He then entered the girl’s room and forced himself on her.
She pushed him away, struggled and cried, saying she did not like him and did not believe that she was supposed to be his wife.
He left the room, only to send the girl’s mother out to buy things to cook.
He returned and began pulling off the girl’s underwear. When she screamed, he shoved a part of the bed linen into her mouth and molested her.
After this, he made her swear on the Bible that she would marry him. She complied only because she was scared.
He stopped his assault when she pleaded with him to do so.
The victim, in tears, told her mother later about the molestation.
The 55-year-old divorcee was angry and wanted to call the police but did not, trapped by her inability to act decisively as a result of a longstanding case of depression, the court heard.
About seven hours after the molestation, the accused locked the mother out of the flat and raped the girl at knife- point.
The victim was later taken to hospital where she and her mother told the doctor about the rape.
During the trial, the victim’s mother was asked by defence counsel Subhas Anandan why she did not call the police that day.
The mother replied that she was confused and waiting for her elder daughter to return so they could decide what to do.
The mother was in tears during her testimony, but said she wanted neither a glass of water nor a recess, instead declaring to the court: “I want justice.”
The prosecution argued that the accused had physically abused the family of staunch Christians during his stay there, but he denied this.
Arguing for a stiff deterrent sentence yesterday, Deputy Public Prosecutors Shahla Iqbal and Edmund Lam listed the many aggravating factors in the case, such as the accused’s abuse of the family’s trust and the violence and brutality with which he forced himself on a young virgin.
DPP Iqbal said the girl’s mother had trusted him enough to let him into her home, treated him like a son and had thought that he would be like a brother to the girl.
The man could have been jailed for up to 10 years and caned for aggravated outrage of modesty.
On the rape charge, he could have been jailed for up to 20 years, and be liable to a fine or caning.
The man, who said he had been chased out of his own home in late 2005, was taken in by his then 18-year-old fiancee’s family, who offered him food and shelter.
He broke up with her, but turned his attentions on her younger sister, kissing and touching the child inappropriately.
Finally, he raped the 13-year-old in December 2006, terrorising the family for more than seven hours and telling her mother that God wanted him to have the child as his wife.
The man is appealing against the conviction and sentence for aggravated molestation and rape.
His divorced parents posted the $100,000 bail for him.
District Judge Low Wee Ping said he was horrified to hear the evidence from the prosecution’s witnesses, particularly that of the victim, her mother and the man’s ex-fiancee.
Judge Low said: “It was, I would describe, a day of terror for the family starting at 2pm and ending at 9.15pm, when you raped the victim.
“The manner in which you pronounced your offences to her mother horrified me. You claimed that it was God’s will. You claimed that, therefore, the victim needed to be your wife.”
The man, now 25, remained expressionless in the dock as he was being sentenced.
He cannot be named to protect the identity of the victim, now 17.
The court heard that on Dec 28, 2006, the victim was in her room when she heard the accused and her mother argue.
He then entered the girl’s room and forced himself on her.
She pushed him away, struggled and cried, saying she did not like him and did not believe that she was supposed to be his wife.
He left the room, only to send the girl’s mother out to buy things to cook.
He returned and began pulling off the girl’s underwear. When she screamed, he shoved a part of the bed linen into her mouth and molested her.
After this, he made her swear on the Bible that she would marry him. She complied only because she was scared.
He stopped his assault when she pleaded with him to do so.
The victim, in tears, told her mother later about the molestation.
The 55-year-old divorcee was angry and wanted to call the police but did not, trapped by her inability to act decisively as a result of a longstanding case of depression, the court heard.
About seven hours after the molestation, the accused locked the mother out of the flat and raped the girl at knife- point.
The victim was later taken to hospital where she and her mother told the doctor about the rape.
During the trial, the victim’s mother was asked by defence counsel Subhas Anandan why she did not call the police that day.
The mother replied that she was confused and waiting for her elder daughter to return so they could decide what to do.
The mother was in tears during her testimony, but said she wanted neither a glass of water nor a recess, instead declaring to the court: “I want justice.”
The prosecution argued that the accused had physically abused the family of staunch Christians during his stay there, but he denied this.
Arguing for a stiff deterrent sentence yesterday, Deputy Public Prosecutors Shahla Iqbal and Edmund Lam listed the many aggravating factors in the case, such as the accused’s abuse of the family’s trust and the violence and brutality with which he forced himself on a young virgin.
DPP Iqbal said the girl’s mother had trusted him enough to let him into her home, treated him like a son and had thought that he would be like a brother to the girl.
The man could have been jailed for up to 10 years and caned for aggravated outrage of modesty.
On the rape charge, he could have been jailed for up to 20 years, and be liable to a fine or caning.
