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SINGAPORE – A man who disappeared half an hour before his High Court hearing began on Monday (March 22) was captured after he attempted to leave Singapore by illegal means on Tuesday night.
The 21-year-old man faced charges of penetrative sexual assault and attempted rape of a 15-year-old girl in 2017 and was due to plead guilty on Monday.
He had breakfast with his father and lawyers in the building next to the courthouse before his hearing. Then he complained of stomach problems, went to the bathroom and never came back.
Respond to inquiries from Yahoo News Singapore, The man’s lawyer, Clarence Lun of Fervent Chambers, said his client was caught by police officers around 6 p.m. Tuesday and that he had conspired with an accomplice to get out of Singapore by illegal means. He intended to leave for Malaysia by boat. The accomplice was also arrested.
Yahoo News Singapore understands that the man will face new charges for perverting the course of justice, under section 204A of the Penal Code.
The man will appear in Superior Court Wednesday morning to determine if bail still needs to be offered. He cannot be appointed due to a court-imposed gag order.
Lawyer explained to the judge
On Monday morning, the court was delayed for half an hour when the lawyer and the man’s father, his bailiff, tried to call him.
When the court convened, Lun told Judge Mavis Chionh that the man met his father and Lun himself for breakfast that morning around 9:10 am at The Adelphi, then told his companions that he had a “noisy stomach. “and that he would like to go to the public toilet.
When asked if he would like to use the restroom in Superior Court instead, the man claimed it was “urgent.” He did not return.
“Around 9.25am, there was no sign of the defendant and we went to the bathroom to look for him and we couldn’t find the defendant in the cubicles. We did our best to search the defendant at the premises, I think we went to different levels to search, but we could not find the defendant. As lead attorney, I went to court first and left my assistant to search for the defendant with his father, “Lun told the court.
When asked by the judge if the parties had tried to call him on the phone, Lun replied that they had, but that the phone was not turned on and they were not sure if the man had a phone with him.
His father tried to send him voice messages to request that his son appear in court.
Addressing the court, the man’s father said that his son’s girlfriend had also texted him to ask how the court session was going and that she had no idea of his whereabouts.
“I don’t think he would run away like that. I think he got caught up in something,” the father told the judge.
Judge Chionh later revoked the man’s bail and issued an arrest warrant against him. A show of cause hearing will be arranged later to determine if the $ 30,000 bond will be forfeited.
Yahoo News Singapore they have contacted the police for more details.
Co-defendant sentenced last year
The man is accused of attempting to rape a 15-year-old girl and sexually penetrate her around 4 a.m. on October 17, 2017 at the foot of the 557 block of Pasir Ris Street 51.
Her co-defendant, a man then 19 years old, was jailed for nine years and received nine strokes of the baton on July 27 last year after he pleaded guilty to raping the same girl on October 17, 2017 after a game. Truth or Dare involving alcohol.
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