Man molests sister-in-law and takes illicit videos of her, gets jail and caning

SINGAPORE: A man was sentenced to jail and caning on Friday (Jan 28) for molesting his sister-in-law and taking illicit videos of her after a drinking session at his house.

The 33-year-old man, who cannot be named due to gag orders imposed by the court, was sentenced to 18 months' jail and three strokes of the cane.

He pleaded guilty to one count each of outrage of modesty and intentional recording of a person doing a private act without her consent. Another two charges were considered in sentencing.

The court heard that the offender was married to the victim's sister. He was also friends with the victim's husband since childhood, or for about 27 years.

The offender, the victim and their respective spouses were close friends and spent time together often, drinking alcohol together and meeting at the offender's home for drinks every month after the end of the "circuit breaker" in 2020.

On the night of Jan 2 last year, the victim, her husband and her husband's brother went to the offender's home for drinks.

The alcohol imbibed by the group that night included three bottles of beer, six to seven bottles of soju, three bottles of sake and whiskey.

The offender had set up his phone in the toilet to film his sister-in-law. He managed to capture two videos of her relieving herself in the toilet past 3am on Jan 3, 2021.

He retrieved his phone after she was done using the toilet, and took videos up the shorts of the victim when she was in the living room. He later said he did this as it "gave him a thrill".

The gathering at his home lasted until about 4am, when the victim wanted to go home. The offender's wife called a valet to take the victim and her husband home, but the offender offered to accompany them home.

The victim felt unwell during the car ride and tried to throw up out of the window. She arrived home with her husband and the accused at about 5.20am.

Her husband collapsed on the living room sofa, while the victim went to the toilet to throw up. 

Meanwhile, the offender positioned his phone in the master bedroom toilet to film the victim. The victim's three children were sleeping in the bedroom, while the victim's mother was elsewhere in the house.

After sleeping for some time, the offender woke up and heard the victim vomiting in the master bedroom toilet. He went in and saw the victim in the toilet, clad only in her undergarments.

He retrieved his phone after she came out of the washroom and went to sleep on the bed. He then molested his sister-in-law while she slept, and pulled her clothes aside to take videos of her.

After capturing several clips, the offender left the bedroom and woke the victim's husband up. The victim later called her husband in to talk to him, as she had noticed flashes of light under her blanket while drifting in and out of sleep earlier.

The victim's husband confronted the offender, who unlocked his phone. The victim's husband looked through the videos and recognised his wife in them. After a confrontation between parties, the offender was asked to leave the house.

The offender surrendered himself to the police later that day, after his wife told him to do so. The victim also filed a police report.

The prosecutor asked for at least 19 months' jail and three strokes of the cane, highlighting the brazen way the offences were committed, the gross abuse of trust and the vulnerability of the victim, who was intoxicated.

"The victim was vulnerable and helpless since she was clearly drunk and the accused made use of this to his benefit to take advantage of her and commit the offences," she said. 

"There was a gross abuse of trust given the parties were related and shared a close relationship."

The offender was allowed to begin his jail term on Feb 22.

For outraging the victim's modesty, he could have been jailed for up to two years, fined, caned, or given any combination of these punishments.

The penalties for intentionally recording a person doing a private act without her consent are the same.