NSF raped deaf and mute 13-year-old girl while pregnant wife was away, gets jail and caning

SINGAPORE: A full-time national serviceman (NSF) who was absent without leave (AWOL) raped a deaf and mute 13-year-old girl when his pregnant wife left the flat to run errands.

The girl sent a phone text message to the wife for help and tried to struggle, but was overpowered by the man.

The 24-year-old Singaporean man, who cannot be named to protect the victim, was sentenced to 12 years and nine months' jail and 12 strokes of the cane on Wednesday (Aug 5).

He pleaded guilty to a charge each of aggravated statutory rape and being absent without leave. Another two charges were taken into consideration.

THE CASE

The accused knew the victim because he had attended secondary school with her older brother.

The victim was close to the accused's wife, who was the goddaughter of the victim's mother. 

Before the offences, the victim met the accused only a few times and always with other people around.

They communicated through very basic sign language and gestures, or by typing on their phones.

On Nov 2, 2024, the victim's mother had to attend an event and arranged for the victim to stay over at the accused's two-room flat.

This was the victim's first time there.

The next morning, the offender's wife, who was four to five months' pregnant, left the flat to run errands and left the teenage girl alone with her husband.

He beckoned to the girl to go to the bedroom with him, where he asked her to have sex with him, despite knowing her age.

The victim communicated that she did not want to.

The man, who was 22 at the time, persisted by typing messages on her phone.

When she continued rejecting him, he offered to pay her.

He molested her and pulled her towards the bed.

The victim secretly texted his wife for help, saying her husband wanted to have sex with her.

The man then raped the teenager. She struggled to escape but was restrained by him.

When his wife returned and began unlocking the flat's door, he stopped his assault and told the girl to go to the toilet quickly to wash herself.

His wife confronted him and he lied that the girl had grown angry and taken a knife from the kitchen.

He claimed that he had showered and gone to the bedroom.

The victim did not tell the man's wife what had happened because she did not want to be the cause of their breakup, and the woman was pregnant.

That evening, the victim's mother picked her up and drove to another house where relatives noticed that the girl had injured her forearm and there was a love bite on her neck.

When questioned, the victim showed a photo of the offender to them and indicated that he had given her the love bite.

The victim's mother called the police on Nov 3, 2024, and they arrested the man that same day.

He also pleaded guilty to going AWOL. He was supposed to report for duty at the Civil Defence Academy on Oct 23, 2023, but failed to do so, remaining absent without leave until his arrest.

SENTENCING ARGUMENTS

Deputy Public Prosecutor Sarah Siaw sought a jail term of at least 12 years and four months to 13 years, along with 12 strokes of the cane.

She said that the victim was under the age of 14 and did not consent, and the offender had not used a condom, which exposed her to the risks of pregnancy and disease.

Even though minors under the age of 14 are deemed legally unable to consent to sexual activity, the victim had also clearly and actively refused the offender's advances, Ms Siaw added.

She noted that after badgering the girl by writing messages on the phone, he offered to pay her and eventually took her by force.

Although no pregnancy or sexually transmitted disease resulted from the rape, the victim is deaf-mute, which makes her more vulnerable to sexual assault, Ms Siaw said.

Defence lawyer Harjeet Kaur from law firm Withers KhattarWong, who took on the case under the Criminal Legal Aid Scheme, sought a jail term of 10 to 10-and-a-half years, as well as eight strokes of the cane.

She said that even though the victim was deaf and mute, there was no evidence that her client had exploited her disability.

Despite her disability, she was able to communicate to the offender that she did not consent, and to text his wife for help.

Justice Andre Maniam said that the defence's submission downplays the significance of the victim's disability.

Since she was deaf, she might not be able to hear when people walked past the flat, and she was not able to call out for help as she was mute, he pointed out.

The prosecution argued that the victim's safety had been entrusted to the offender and his wife, and then his wife entrusted him with the victim's safety when she left the flat.

The defence said there was no evidence that the victim trusted the accused, despite addressing him as "uncle".

Justice Maniam rejected that submission. He noted that the victim had stayed overnight with the couple, and that the offender was also a schoolmate of the victim's older brother.

"I cannot accept that any relationship was only between the offender's wife and the victim's mother," he said.

The offender had tendered a letter in mitigation, stating he went AWOL due to financial issues and that he took a job as a cleaner.

Justice Maniam said that NSFs with financial issues should inform their commanders and seek aid, whether internally or externally through social services or family service centres.

They should not take matters into their own hands by going AWOL to work, and this will only make things worse, he added.

In his mitigation, the offender said that he had spent the past two years in remand reflecting on his actions.

He apologised to the victim, his wife and his child, who was born while he was in remand.

He asked the court for leniency and for mercy to be extended to this family. He said that he had pursued religious counselling and is seeking to improve himself.

However, given the circumstances of the case, Justice Maniam said that he did not consider any adjustment to the sentence justified.

For aggravated statutory rape, the man could have been jailed for between eight and 20 years and given at least 12 strokes of the cane.

For going AWOL, he could have been jailed for up to two years.