Man gets jail, caning for spiking woman’s drink with intention to rape her
The District Court sentenced Annadurai Parabakaran, an Indian national, to two years and 10 months’ jail, as well as three strokes of the cane, after he was convicted of administering a drug to the woman and obstructing the course of justice.
SINGAPORE – Uncertain that his 21-year-old female flatmate would have a sexual relationship with him, 28-year-old private-hire bus driver Annadurai Parabakaran hatched a plan in December last year to rape her.
He attempted to drug the woman by putting what he thought was a sleeping pill into her bottled water. His ploy was unsuccessful when, upon drinking the water, the woman spat it out as it tasted bitter.
On Wednesday (June 6), the District Court sentenced Annadurai, an Indian national, to two years and 10 months' jail, as well as three strokes of the cane, after he was convicted of administering a drug to the woman and obstructing the course of justice.
The court heard that Annadurai, who has been working in Singapore for more than seven years, was living with the woman in a Tampines flat.
The woman, who could not be named due to a court order, is also an Indian national who was living with her uncle and his family. Court documents did not mention how the man came about to live in the flat, and no further details were given about the woman.
After fantasising about having sex with the woman, Annadurai decided to drug her and rape her while she was asleep. On the evening of Dec 9 last year, he went to a makeshift stall in Geylang to purchase what he thought were two sleeping pills.
He bought two of them for a total of S$2, but the court heard that the pills in fact contained sildenafil, an ingredient found in Viagra that treats erectile dysfunction.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Rachel Tan said that he intentionally bought two pills "so that he could test one and thereafter give one to the victim".
On the day of the incident, Annadurai and the woman were alone in the flat as the woman's family members had gone overseas. At about 9.30pm, he decided to test one of the pills to see if it would dissolve completely in water, and if the water would remain colourless.
It turned out as he had hoped for, and Annadurai decided to carry out his plan. Noticing that the woman had left her bottled water at the dining table while washing the dishes in the kitchen, he put the pill in the water, and went to his room to wait.
Once she was done with her chores, the woman took the bottled water back to her bedroom, took a sip and realised there was a bitter taste. She spat the water out onto the floor, and immediately suspected that Annadurai might have put something into the water. Frightened, she went into the master bedroom, and called her female friend.
When her friend arrived together with an unknown man, they confronted Annadurai, who admitted to his actions and pleaded for forgiveness. Out of a sudden, Annadurai grabbed the bottled water and deliberately poured the water out, and dropped the bottle on the floor.
One of the woman's friend retrieved the water bottle – which did not contain much water left – as evidence, and called the police. By attempting to dispose the evidence, the man had obstructed the course of justice.
A toxicology report by the Health Sciences Authority showed that the water contained sildenafil, which is not meant to be consumed by women, and might cause side effects such as nausea and rhinitis.
In his mitigation plea, Annadurai's lawyer said that his client was remorseful and pleaded for the minimum possible sentence.
