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SINGAPORE: A man who booked a Grab ride home for his drunk friend, who was then allegedly sexually assaulted by the driver, told a court on Wednesday (September 30) that the woman “kept insisting” that she did not want him to he will send her home. of a bar.
He also said that he did not send the woman home because his girlfriend, who was also at the bar, was tired and that the victim’s house was at the “other end of Singapore.”
The 22-year-old student, who cannot be identified because it could lead to the identification of the victim, took the stand in the trial against former Grab driver Tan Yew Sin.
Tan, 46, is contesting charges of attempted rape, sexual assault and outrage of modesty against the then 19-year-old victim in the early hours of May 19, 2018 in his vehicle after picking her up at Wildseed Bar.
The witness, who met the victim in 2014 after working together at a smoothie shop, said he had gone to the Seletar Aerospace Park bar on May 18, 2018 to meet his girlfriend and the victim.
They were seen in closed-circuit television footage played back in court drinking at the Seletar Aerospace Park bar, and the victim arrived at approximately 10:30 p.m.
The victim drank about four pints of beer, the witness said, drinking faster towards the end when the bar closed.
During their meeting, the victim went to the bathroom several times and said she wanted to vomit, the witness said. She was also walking unsteady and towards the end she had to hold onto his arm.
In the early morning of May 19, the witness helped reserve a Grab car for the victim, but when the car arrived, the victim was still in the bathroom.
When the witness asked the Grab driver if he could wait, he said he couldn’t and asked the witness to cancel.
READ: Former Grab driver on trial for attempted rape and sexual assault on a 19-year-old passenger
The witness booked a second Grab car and testified that he had asked the victim if she wanted him to send her home.
“She kept insisting, saying ‘I don’t want to, I can go back myself,'” said the witness.
He said he repeatedly asked the victim if she wanted him to send her home and said she was “really drunk” already. Before that, she appeared dizzy and had trouble walking, she testified.
In the footage reproduced in court, the witness was seen opening the Grab car door for the victim after the vehicle arrived.
Tan could be heard saying, “My friend is a bit drunk, is it okay for you to send her back?”
Tan replied in Mandarin, “I can’t help you if she’s drunk.”
The man also testified that he told Tan that the victim was a bit drunk, because he did not believe she was about to lose consciousness.
“She said she really (didn’t have) a problem. She knew she couldn’t walk properly, but she didn’t know she was passed out from that kind of drunk,” he said. She added that she did not want to give the impression that her friend was “KO” or knocked out.
He then handed Tan $ 20 in cash and told him to keep the change, and asked his friend to text him when he got home.
He acknowledged that, although he had not realized it at the time, the woman “sounded like she was very drunk” in a video clip played in court.
WHY DIDN’T YOU SEND IT HOME?
When asked by the Deputy Prosecutor Muhamad Imaduddien why he did not send the victim home, the witness said there were several factors.
First, the victim was “quite persistent” in saying that she did not want him to send her home, saying that she wanted to go alone.
Second, the witness’s girlfriend at the time, a flight attendant, had just returned from abroad and was tired.
The victim also lived on “the other end of Singapore” so they decided to go their separate ways, the witness said.
After Tan left, the witness and his girlfriend took another vehicle home. He testified that he tried to call the victim several times during his trip, but she did not answer.
He tried to call her back one more time when he got to his girlfriend’s house, without success. The next morning, she awoke to missed calls from the victim, her mother, and the police.
According to the prosecution, Tan had brought the victim home, but was unable to open the side door.
He then took her back to his car, where he sexually assaulted her and attempted to rape her. After this, he drove to an isolated area and abused her before taking her back home.
The victim entered the compound but did not return home. She was later found lying in the middle of the road without her shorts and underwear. Tan’s DNA was found on her bra and the victim’s DNA was found on Tan’s underwear.
Tan, who is married with three children, is defended by attorneys Chenthil Kumarasingam and Adeline Goh of Withers KhattarWong. He’s been kicked off the Grab platform.
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.
