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SINGAPORE: A former Grab driver claimed trial on Tuesday (September 29) for sexual assault and attempted rape of a 19-year-old passenger he picked up from a bar two years ago.
Tan Yew Sin, 46, is contesting charges of attempted rape, sexual assault and indignation for modesty, which he allegedly committed against the victim in his car.
According to prosecutors, Tan accepted a reservation in the early hours of May 19, 2018 to transport the victim from the Wildseed Bar in Seletar Aerospace Park to his home.
The details of the victim’s home have been removed from court documents as it is protected by a gag order.
The victim had gone to the bar with his friends the night before and drank about five glasses of beer during the night, the prosecution said.
A friend helped her book a Grab car and two friends noticed that she was drunk, crying, and unable to walk straight.
They helped her into the car and told Tan that the victim was drunk, handing her a plastic bag in case she needed to vomit during the trip.
The victim’s friend was heard in the in-car camera footage that was played in court asking the defendant to help drive her home, thanking him, and asking the victim to send a text message when he got home.
The victim lay in the back seat, crying when Tan tried to talk to her, Assistant Prosecutors Muhamad Imaduddien, Chew Xin Ying and Emily Koh said.
She fell asleep and Tan woke her up when they arrived at his residence. She got out but couldn’t get to the side door.
SO TOOK HER BACK TO THE CAR WHEN I COULDN’T GET IN THE DOOR
Tan, who is married with three children, saw her looking “lost and unstable” and took her back to his car after she squatted down and started crying.
Speaking to police, Tan said the victim was agitated while in her car and hit her head against the window while crying.
He went to the back seat to comfort her, went through her belongings to find out where she lived, and grabbed her phone to call someone to look for her.
However, instead of helping her home, he began committing sex crimes with her, kissing her before attempting to rape her, prosecutors alleged.
According to them, Tan then drove to a more secluded area and began sexually abusing the victim and assaulting her.
Finally, he helped the victim to return to his residence and left.
For unknown reasons, the victim did not return home and was found by another Grab driver at around 4.40 am, lying in the middle of the road without underwear and shorts.
He called the police and waited until an ambulance arrived. The paramedic will testify that the victim was crying and struggling when he tried to examine her, the prosecution said. Tan’s DNA was later found on the victim’s underwear.
LIKELY DEFENSE TO ARGUMENT VICTIM CONSENT
Defense attorneys Chenthil Kumarasingam and Adeline Goh agree on some facts of the case, including that the victim was crying during the car ride from the bar to her home.
The prosecution will present evidence from 32 witnesses and tender images from closed-circuit television cameras and Tan’s car camera.
The footage shows the victim sobbing throughout the car ride, with Tan repeatedly asking her what happened and if she had just broken up.
In Tan’s statements to the police, he admitted that he had not asked the victim for consent, but claimed that she “participated in some of the sexual acts.”
Prosecutors said Tan is likely to argue that he believed in good faith that the victim consented to the sexual acts.
However, they said alarms should have arisen in Tan’s mind regarding the victim’s behavior, including her crying, lack of response to her questions, her lost and unstable appearance, and that her friend had said she was drunk.
A blood sample from the victim was later found to contain 26 mg per 100 ml of blood, with an estimated blood alcohol content at 3 a.m. that day in the range of 132.2 to 155.9 mg. per 100 ml of blood.
The victim’s inability to recall the events in Tan’s car may indicate an alcohol blackout, or that she was fast asleep from drinking, prosecutors said.
A consultant from the Institute of Mental Health will testify that the victim was significantly intoxicated and unable to consent to sexual activity, the prosecution added.
When contacted by CNA, a Grab spokesperson said that Tan had been kicked off the Grab platform.
“The safety of our users is important to us and we have zero tolerance for indecent behavior, harassment or abuse of any kind. Users who have exhibited indecent behavior will be banned from the platform,” he said.
The trial continues. If convicted of attempted rape or penetrative sexual assault, Tan could be jailed for up to 20 years, fined or punished.
If convicted of an outrage of modesty, you could be imprisoned for up to two years, fined, flogged, or given any combination of these penalties.
