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SINGAPORE – The woman who accused a Singaporean Management University (SMU) student of sexually abusing her while she was sleeping had engaged in “physical jokes” with the man the night before the incident, the man’s lawyer said Wednesday (September 9).
“In fact, you gave your consent (to the activities). I told you that throughout the night you participated in physical jokes with Yan Ru … Agree or disagree? asked lawyer Thong Chee Kun, who represents defendant Lee Yan Ru, 24, in the case.
In response, the 22-year-old woman pointed out that she had repeatedly rejected Lee’s advances by pushing him away, telling him to leave and stop his actions.
Lee has sought trial on a charge of sexually abusing the woman, whom he met through the Instagram photo-sharing app about a week or two before the January 8 incident last year.
He is accused of rubbing his genitals on the woman’s chest at 6.30am while in a study room at SMU. Due to a gag order, the woman, who is from a private university, cannot be named.
Second day on the stand
According to the woman, she had met Lee around 1 a.m. at SMU for work and Lee took her to the study room. While in the room, Lee allegedly made multiple unwanted advances towards the woman, including holding her, touching her breasts, and attempting to kiss her while placing his penis on her thigh.
While the woman said she rejected his advances, she maintained that she did not take further action for fear of offending or embarrassing Lee. She repeatedly claimed that she did not verbalize her objections to her advances, as she thought her actions were enough to discourage her.
Defense attorney Thong took to this point on Wednesday, the second day after the woman’s questioning, to base himself on his argument that the woman had not steadfastly prevented Lee from stepping up his actions that night.
Referring to the moment when Lee allegedly stood between her legs while she was sitting on a table and placed his penis on her thigh, Thong asked the woman if she thought Lee’s intention was to have sex with her.
Initially, the woman maintained that the thought had not crossed her mind. While she didn’t actually see Lee’s exposed genitals, she felt something “warm” on her thigh.
“I just thought he was trying to be funny or trying his luck. It did not occur to me that he wanted to have (sexual activity), ”she said.
“Considering I got little sleep that night, it just didn’t occur to me that maybe I was just trying to get an answer. It just didn’t cross my mind, ”he added.
When Thong asked her what she thought Lee was trying to do, the woman replied, “I really have no idea. Trying to wake up maybe. ”
He finally agreed that he thought Lee’s intentions might have been sexual.
After each incident of harassment, the woman maintained that she did not think about stopping the man from making further advances because she “did not think he would try again.” Thong then pointed out that the bullying was still happening despite his signs.
“He did it over and over again, so he would have been proven wrong a second time. So for the second time, did you think you wanted to prevent me from participating in any physical activity with you at that time? “
The woman replied, “The second time, I didn’t think there would be a third, so I didn’t stop it the second time.”
“Maybe I’m someone who gives a lot of opportunities, I was just being too nice about it,” he added.
When Thong asked her if she thought Lee was obviously not getting the message, the woman replied that she didn’t know.
“I was tired. I don’t know why I didn’t think of that,” said the woman.
This prompted Thong to reply: “I’ll tell you why… you actually gave your consent to all these activities. I told you that throughout the night you were a participant (in) this physical joke with Yan Ru. That must be the reality. “
The woman disagreed and stated: “If I had consented, why would I have pushed him away and asked him to leave? If he had consented, wouldn’t we have had a good time instead of him ejaculating on my face when I was asleep ? ” ? “
He added that he had taken Lee’s advances seriously and saw him simply as trying his luck.
