[ad_1]
SINGAPORE – A 45-year-old man who was originally sentenced to five years in prison and six strokes of the cane for sexually abusing a married woman whom he invited into his home was acquitted on Tuesday (September 1) after his appeal to the High Court.
Chen Benzhong, a photographer, was accused of hugging the 39-year-old woman and touching her breasts after immobilizing her on a bed.
He contested the charges, arguing that she was a willing party in the September 3, 2017 incident, but a district judge found him guilty of two counts of sexual abuse last year.
On Tuesday, Superior Court Judge Chua Lee Ming accepted the man’s appeal and said it was not safe to uphold the sentence.
The judge accepted the arguments of his lawyers, Mr. Philip Fong and Mr. Hee Theng Fong, that the man’s intention to ask the woman to spend the night with him was very clear in the text messages exchanged between them. .
In messages to the woman the night before, Mr. Chen, who is also married, invited her to his home and pointed out that her husband was out of town.
She asked “is it safe?”, And when he asked if it would be okay if he didn’t go home, she responded with a surprised face emoji.
The judge said she was clearly aware of the man’s intention and was at least open to the possibility of a date with him.
Judge Chua also noted that when Mr. Chen asked the woman to come to his bedroom, she followed him instead of leaving the apartment.
She added that there was no damage to her clothing and she also found it “difficult” to see how her bra could have come undone based on her account of how she was being held.
The court heard that Mr. Chen, who met the woman four months before the alleged crimes, had sent her messages with terms of affection.
The woman, who cannot be named due to a gag order to protect her identity, maintained that they were only friends.
She testified that she had asked Mr. Chen to help her photograph some beauty products that she was selling. She said she thought he would take her to her study, but it turned out to be her floor.
She alleged that the man repeatedly told her to go into the room, saying it had air conditioning, and she reluctantly followed him.
She claimed that while sitting, he asked her to stand up to compare her height, and when she did, he hugged her.
She said she tried to push him away, but he pushed her onto the bed, reached under her blouse, and tugged on her bra before touching her. He added that he stopped after she screamed out loud.
The woman then ran out of the bedroom, locked herself in the bathroom, and called a colleague for help. She also told Mr. Chen to go to her room.
After more than an hour, she came out of the bathroom and looked for her keys, and then left the floor without shoes.
Her colleague and two police officers who saw her on the empty deck testified that she was crying, Assistant District Attorney Joshua Lim said.
But Chen’s lawyers argued that the signs of distress did not mean she was raped. They pointed out that after the woman rejected Mr. Chen’s advances, he did not stop her from leaving and even told her where to find the keys.
[ad_2]
