Man admits to raping his cousin while on bail for raping his ex-girlfriend

SINGAPORE: A young man pleaded guilty on Tuesday (Sep 3) to raping his cousin while on bail for raping his ex-girlfriend.

The 20-year-old man, who is now serving his national service (NS), was 17 when he raped his former girlfriend, also 17, in November 2015.

While out on bail and waiting to be called up for NS about a year later, he raped his 16-year-old cousin and told her not to make a police report as he was under investigation for raping his ex-girlfriend.

The young man, who cannot be named due to gag orders issued by the court, pleaded guilty on Tuesday to two charges of rape and one charge of affray for an unrelated incident this year.

Another seven charges will be taken into consideration for sentencing.

The court heard that the offender lived with his parents, grandparents and sister in a flat, and committed the first rape in his bedroom.

He had been in a relationship with the first victim, whose identity is protected by gag order, when they were in Secondary 3 and 4.

They had engaged in consensual sexual intercourse while they were dating and were below the age of 16. Both parties are being dealt with separately for these incidents.

The couple broke up in February 2015 as they frequently quarrelled, but had consensual sex twice after this.

VICTIM WENT TO HIS HOME AFTER HE OFFERED HER A RIDE HOME

On Nov 15, 2015, the victim was drinking with her friends at a coffee shop near the offender's home when he bumped into them. He offered her a ride home on his electric bicycle, which was in his flat.

The offender's family members were home, and she went to his bedroom while he used the washroom. They sat on the bed smoking and talking, when the teenager started molesting her.

He then raped her as she pleaded with him to stop, telling her that he wanted her to have his baby, said Deputy Public Prosecutor Mansoor Amir.

When the girl said she wanted to go home, her ex-boyfriend told her to first kneel in front of him for five minutes, and she did so as she was afraid of him.

They began scuffling, the victim screamed and she was bruised on her head in the struggle.

The teenager's grandmother called out to them from outside the room, asking what had happened. The victim was crying and did not answer, but the offender's father opened the door with a spare key and found the victim lying on the floor.

When he asked what had happened, the pair did not answer him.

The truth came to light only when the offender's friends went to his bedroom and one of them asked the crying victim what was wrong.

The offender said the victim was arrogant, and the girl replied that he had raped her.

The young man then told everyone in the bedroom loudly that he had raped the victim, to silence.

The girl later met her mother to lodge a police report.

WHILE ON BAIL, HE RAPED 16-YEAR-OLD COUSIN​​​​​​​

The offender, who was then 18 and waiting to be called up for NS, started talking to his cousin on WhatsApp after she posted on Snapchat saying she had a boyfriend.

They began chatting about their sexual experiences, and they agreed to meet at another flat that was unoccupied and belonged to the accused's family.

They met at the flat on Oct 13, 2016, with the victim thinking that her cousin wanted to help her dye her hair.

They chatted in the living room at first, before the young man suggested that they continue their conversation in the master bedroom as he was "afraid that they would be disturbing his neighbours".

They headed to the bedroom, where the teenager began making remarks like "you (are) very cute".

While her cousin pushed her onto the bed and began undressing her, the girl told him that she had a boyfriend and that they were cousins.

The accused replied that "he did not care", court documents said.

He then raped the girl, who tried to push him away but could not as he was too strong for her.

HE ASKED COUSIN NOT TO FILE POLICE REPORT

She then tried to leave the flat but was held back by her cousin, who told her he did not want her to make a police report, as he was being investigated for raping his ex.

The girl began crying and promised her cousin that she would not report the matter, as she was anxious to leave.

The offender called his mother and asked her to go to the flat, while making his cousin delete all the text messages they had exchanged.

His mother helped the girl hail a taxi and go home, and the victim later made a police report saying she was raped by her cousin at his place.

The rapist also admitted in court to one count of affray for his involvement in a group fight in Geylang in June this year, which he had committed while out on bail.

District Judge Eddy Tham called for a report to assess if he is suitable for reformative training, a harsher punishment than probation that is given to offenders aged below 21, detaining them in a structured environment with an emphasis on rehabilitation.

He will return to court for sentencing next week.

For each count of rape, he could be jailed for up to 20 years and fined or caned.

For affray, he could be jailed for up to a year, fined a maximum of S$5,000, or both.