Three men involved in gang rape of unconscious teenager at birthday party found guilty

SINGAPORE: Three men who claimed trial to various charges of rape and sexual assault of an 18-year-old teenager at a birthday party five years ago were found guilty on Tuesday (Apr 23).

The victim, whose identity is protected by gag order, did not know any of the three men when she went to the now-defunct Duxton Hotel on Jan 26, 2014 for a birthday party. The men were 20 years old at the time of the offence.

The court heard that the victim was plied with alcoholic drinks by another man, Muhammad Fadly Abdull Wahab, until she collapsed to the floor.

While unconscious and vulnerable in the hotel room, the woman was sexually assaulted and raped by five men. Two of the men were sentenced to between 11 and 13 years' jail and six to eight strokes of the cane after pleading guilty to their involvement in 2016.

The other three - Ridhaudin Ridhwan Bakri, Muhammad Faris Ramlee and Asep Ardiansyah - were jointly tried for charges ranging from rape to sexual assault by penetration.

VICTIM SCREAMED INTO PILLOW, FELT PAIN FOR HOURS

After leaving the hotel in the morning, the victim felt that "something bad had happened to her while she was unconscious", the prosecution said.

She told her friends that she strongly suspected that she had been "raped by a lot of guys" as her private parts were hurting. The pain persisted for almost 10 hours, and she urinated blood.

After she got home, she locked herself in her bedroom, covering her face with a pillow and screaming. She made a police report only two days later as she was "concerned about her dignity and the embarrassment of having to inform the police all the details of what happened to her", court documents said.

JUDGE TOSSES OUT ARGUMENTS BY THE MEN

Justice Woo Bih Li on Tuesday convicted Ridhwan of one charge each of rape, sexual assault by penetration and molestation. He convicted Faris of a rape charge but acquitted him of another charge of sexual penetration as it was unclear that it was him and not Ridhwan who had assaulted the victim in that instance.

He convicted Asep of both sexual assault by penetration and another charge of attempted rape.

The three men did not deny that they had engaged in sexual acts with the victim that day, but argued that she had consented to them, or that they had mistakenly thought she consented.

However, the prosecution argued that the victim was so intoxicated that she was not able to consent.

Ridhwan had claimed that the victim had actively asked him for sex and that he had mistakenly assaulted her in the wrong orifice "by accident".

However, the judge did not believe him, saying that a person such as Ridhwan, who was "reasonably experienced in such matters", could not have unintentionally penetrated the wrong orifice on multiple instances.

"Notably, after the alleged offences, Ridhwan also exchanged text messages with Asep and Faris in which they conspired to deny that any sexual act had taken place between them and the (victim)," said the judge. 

"Subsequently, Ridhwan in fact lied in his initial police statements to say that no sexual act had occurred, before changing his story in his later statement to say that the sexual acts had been consensual."

The judge also dismissed Asep's defence that the victim had been sober during sexual activity with him, but was intoxicated before and after.

"I find this to be self-serving and incredible," he said. He added that he was not persuaded by Asep's questioning of the victim's credibility, who he said had been willing to communicate and meet her attacker after the deed.

The judge said he was mindful of the risks and inaccuracy of accepting Asep's underlying premise that there should be a single mould of how a victim of sexual abuse should act. 

The men will be sentenced at a later date. The maximum punishment for rape and sexual assault by penetration is both 20 years' jail and a fine or caning.