Man pleads guilty to attempting to rape drunk friend after night out, molesting her on the way to his home

SINGAPORE — After a night of drinks with his girlfriend and two friends who were dating each other, a man boarded a taxi with his intoxicated female friend and ended up trying to rape her in his home.

He also molested the victim in the taxi on the way to his flat, leaving his girlfriend to look for a different taxi with the victim's partner.

In court on Monday (Jan 15), he pleaded guilty to attempted rape. Two charges for molestation were taken into consideration.

The persons involved in the case, including the man, cannot be named due to a court order to protect the victim's identity.

WHAT HAPPENED

The court heard that the man, the victim and their respective partners went to a bar for drinks on April 1 in 2019.

Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Emily Koh said that the four were friends in the Philippines before they came to work in Singapore.

Court documents showed that both the victim and man were drunk.

The four left the bar at around 1am and took a Grab ride together.

Before the car drove off, however, the victim vomited in the vehicle. This led the four of them to get out of the car.

The court heard that while their partners were looking for another taxi, the man and the victim boarded one that arrived and proceeded to head to his home without their partners, even though his girlfriend was living in his apartment.

On the way to his home, the court heard that he pulled the victim towards him so that she could rest her head on his shoulder. He then placed her hand on his groin and groped her throughout the ride.

During this, she was "in and out of consciousness", DPP Koh said.

When they arrived at his home, the man helped the victim lie down on a bed, where she then fell asleep.

He then proceeded to grope the victim, later deciding to take off both their clothes and to rape her.

"The victim felt weak when she woke up and tried to turn away from the accused," DPP Koh said.

Rejecting his advances, the victim crossed her legs to prevent him from raping her. The man eventually stopped, got dressed and left the room.

BETRAYED TRUST

Court documents said that the victim's boyfriend later arrived at the man's home and took the victim back to their apartment.

After the incident, the victim confided in her close friends and sought help from the Association of Women for Action and Research, a women's support group, because she was having nightmares and panic attacks for two to three months after the attempted rape.

"The victim attended a counselling session on May 14, 2019 and thereafter lodged a police report on May 27, 2019," DPP Koh added.

On Monday, the prosecution sought a sentence of five years' jail and six strokes of the cane.

DPP Koh said: "The victim was vulnerable by virtue of her intoxication... The accused not only abused their friendship, but also violated the trust she had placed in him."

In the man's mitigation plea, Mr Raphael Louis from law firm Ray Louis Corporation denied that there was abuse of friendship and trust.

"When they went out for drinks, it was a joint decision," he said, adding that his client had not planned his actions.

"Consumption of alcohol clouded everyone's decision... My client had got into the taxi with the victim, rather than his then-girlfriend."

While he said that this was not an excuse for the man's actions, Mr Louis said that his client had "shown genuine remorse" and called for a lighter sentence of 3.5 years' jail.

The man will be back in court on Jan 18 for his sentencing.

For attempted rape, he could be jailed up to 20 years and fined or caned.