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SINGAPORE – They were friends, but after a night out, he sexually abused the 25-year-old woman at her home, leaving her “so shocked and scared she couldn’t move.”
On Thursday (December 17), the Singaporean offender, now 30, pleaded guilty in district court to one count of sexual abuse.
He cannot be named due to a gag order to protect the identity of the victim.
The court heard that the couple had a drinking session with other friends around 9 p.m. on November 15 of last year before leaving the bar later around 1 a.m.
The victim invited the man and two other friends to his home in a Mount Vernon Road condo to hang out.
One of the friends left the unit around 3 a.m., while the other fell asleep on the living room couch.
The attacker asked the woman if she could stay the night and when she agreed, they continued chatting in the living room.
Deputy Prosecutor Daniel Ling said: “The defendant and the victim talked about ‘spooning’, which is a sexual issue. After a while, both the victim and the accused fell asleep on the floor of the courtroom.
“Some time later, the victim woke up and realized that the defendant was hugging her from behind.”
She left him to use the bathroom and fell asleep in her own room. But he left the door to the room open.
The man woke up shortly after and moved to his bed. The victim was surprised to find him resting next to her.
Overcome by temptation, the man slipped his left hand into his friend’s blouse and abused her.
DPP Ling told the court: “Scared and frightened, the victim took the opportunity to turn away from the accused and turn her back on him. The victim was upset and indignant.
“Shortly thereafter, the defendant’s alarm sounded stating that it was around 6:30 am. The defendant got out of the victim’s bed and left the (unit).”
The woman told her boyfriend, who was then studying abroad, about her ordeal before finally alerting the police on November 21 last year.
DPP Ling had lobbied for the man to be sentenced to at least eight months in jail with up to three strokes of the cane, emphasizing that the crime involved skin-to-skin contact.
Defense attorney Lim Kia Tong pleaded for his client to be given six months in jail without whipping. Mr. Lim also said that his client is sorry and that the crime was not premeditated.
The offender’s bail was set at $ 15,000 on Thursday and he will be sentenced on December 23.
For sexual abuse, he could have been jailed for up to two years and fined or punished.
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