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SINGAPORE: The defense of a Singapore Management University (SMU) student accused of sexually abusing a woman during an evening study session claimed on Wednesday (9 September) that the woman was lying and giving a “completely illogical account. “of the facts.
“What he’s been telling us, each of us in this courtroom for the past few days, is really lies and half truths,” said Rajah & Tann attorney Thong Chee Kun.
The 22-year-old, whose identity is protected by a gag order, disagreed. She was testifying as a prosecution witness against Lee Yan Ru, 24, on a charge of sexual abuse.
Lee is contesting a charge of using criminal force by rubbing his private parts on his chest in a study hall at the university on January 8 of last year.
The woman had told the court that she met Lee on Instagram and met him in two study sessions, even though she initially refused to date him because she had a boyfriend.
During the second study session between 12.30am and 6.30am in a study room at SMU, Lee allegedly abused her and touched her several times.
She had explained that she was a “non-verbal” person who did not want to be “outspoken” and instead indicated her displeasure at Lee’s actions in other ways.
She also said she hoped he would stop hinting at her, adding that she didn’t leave because she didn’t want to leave a bad impression and there was “no means of transportation.”
LEE: Woman testifies at the trial of an SMU student accused of abusing her, saying she felt ‘weird and uncomfortable’
Addressing his account of the events, Mr. Thong said, “Let me tell you that what actually happened is that you were also involved in physical jokes with Yan Ru throughout the night at SMU.”
The woman disagreed.
“(This) is really the only possible explanation, because he could have easily retaliated and gone home at any time if Yan Ru had really offended him by any inappropriate contact,” the lawyer continued.
“I disagree. I think I retaliated by signaling him many times, pushing him and telling him to stop and leave,” the woman replied.
THE DEFENSE POSES MULTIPLE QUESTIONS TO WOMEN
Mr. Thong questioned the woman about various points she made during her testimony.
He asked why a Grab had not taken a vehicle home since he had taken it there. To this, the woman replied: “As a student, you want to save money. I already grabbed there, I didn’t want to grab again.”
He also asked her why she hadn’t gone home instead of napping around 6 a.m., when public transportation was available.
The woman said she was “really tired,” adding that she thought it wasn’t even close to 6 in the morning, as she had last seen a dark sky when she returned from a second smoke break in the elevator lobby.
She said she was awakened from her nap by a weight on her abdomen and saw Lee straddling her chest area.
She said she only saw his left hand on the table and did not see his private parts, but “felt” them and deduced that he was masturbating.
After this, she said that she felt “degraded” and “like a whore”. When questioning the woman about her use of the term, Mr. Thong asked why she felt “like a whore”.
LEE: Woman says she felt angry for being ‘disrespected and degraded’ by an SMU student who allegedly abused her in the classroom
“Because I felt like they were using me,” he replied.
“My understanding of the word ‘whore’ is that it is a derogatory term, describing a laid-back woman who has casual sex, or one who readily consents. Is that your understanding of the word?” asked Mr. Thong.
“No,” said the woman, explaining that her understanding of the term “whore” was “a lady who is used by men.”
“Is it possible that you felt that way, like a whore, because you felt that you had just participated in a sexual activity with Yan Ru, despite having a boyfriend at the time?” asked Mr. Thong.
“No. I (keep) what I said. I felt like a whore because I was used,” said the woman.
LAWYER GIVES LEE ACCOUNT OF WHAT HAPPENED
Mr. Thong then gave Lee’s account of what happened that night. According to Lee, he met the woman in a cafe on January 7, 2019 for the first time.
He pushed her around her stomach or rib area playfully a few times, until she pulled his hand “gently” away. He asked her if she was “saliva conscious” before drinking from her straw to taste her drink, but the woman said she couldn’t remember this.
According to Lee, the couple continued to text after this and before meeting for the second time in the early hours of January 8, 2019.
He told her that “there wouldn’t be too many people” at SMU when they went there, and then placed both feet on his thighs in the study room.
“With her bare feet on her thighs, she recalled that her feet were close to the inner thighs and the crotch area,” said Mr. Thong, to which the woman disagreed.
“Yan Ru remembers there was a playful exchange during which he playfully moved his feet up and down your lap,” he added. The woman again disagreed with this happening.
“At times when your feet slipped off your lap, you would pick your feet up and put them back on your lap,” the attorney said. The woman disagreed. She had testified that she had been uncomfortable when he placed his foot on her thigh and pushed it repeatedly.
Another difference in their accounts of what happened that night was the Netflix movie they saw.
The woman had said she wanted to watch it alone because she prefers to do it, but Lee recalled that they discussed which show to watch and did it together.
As they watched the show under the table, Lee put his arm around the woman’s back to hold her arm and she did not pull away, the lawyer alleged. The woman disagreed.
When Lee tried to tickle her several times, she responded a few times by “patting her face,” Mr. Thong claimed. The woman disagreed.
Mr. Thong claimed that when Lee touched the woman’s chest, she “laughed”. She did not agree with this happening.
In another incident, when Lee attempted to kiss her, she turned her head and he kissed her cheek, to which she said “ew” in a “playful tone,” the attorney claimed.
The woman again disagreed.
According to Lee’s account, there was another incident in which she sat on the woman’s legs and tried to undo her bra, but the woman replied that she was wearing a sports bra without a hook and disagreed with this happening.
THE TELLONYM ACCOUNT
The lawyer also showed the woman several text documents from a social media platform called Tellonym, where one person asks a question and another answers it.
The screenshots were from the woman’s account and Mr. Thong marked up some sets of questions and answers.
One of the questions, posed by an anonymous person, said, “You are a good liar.” The woman answered “yes”. When asked about this in court, the woman agreed that she had said so.
He also acknowledged that this answer was related to another follow-up question from an anonymous person, who said: “Probably why he lied about the police case and claimed to have abused.”
In response, the woman replied in Tellonym: “You have the balls, come and tell me in the face.”
The Tellonym messages have not yet been added as evidence.
The prosecutor had no questions for the woman under cross-examination and closed her case on Wednesday. The accused will take the stand to open the defense case in the next part of the trial.
The parties will meet in October to decide the next test dates.
If convicted of sexually abusing the woman, Lee can be jailed for up to two years, fined, flogged, or any combination of these penalties.
CNA has contacted SMU for more information.
