Trio jailed for molest and rape of pub waitress
SINGAPORE — A Boat Quay pub waitress was left traumatised after a night of entertaining and drinking games ended with her being raped in a hotel room.
Three Singaporean men — a pair of brothers and their friend — were yesterday jailed by the High Court for sexually assaulting the pub waitress, whose name has been withheld to protect her identity. She was 18 at the time of the incident.
The brothers, Calvin Tan Jian Wei, 28, and Edwin Tan Jian An, 26, were each sentenced to 11 years in jail and eight strokes of the cane for conspiring to commit rape. Their friend, Ho Boon Sheng, 25, was sentenced to 13-and-a-half years in jail and 12 strokes of the cane for committing rape.
On the night of July 3, 2010, the trio met the victim at the pub where she was working and played drinking games with the victim, who soon became severely intoxicated. Ho then mooted the idea of a foursome with the victim, who had become unresponsive.
They took her to a hotel on Jiak Chuan Road, where the three men molested her and Ho raped her.
Hotel staff who heard her screams called the room and knocked on the door several times, but were told that they would be leaving soon. When the screaming did not stop, the hotel staff knocked on the door again and found the victim crying in a fetal position on the bed. One of the staff asked the victim if she wished to call the police, to which she said yes. The three men were arrested before they could leave.
The trio were later released, but investigations led to their re-arrest on June 6, 2013. The brothers remained in remand until the hearing yesterday, while Ho posted bail of S$50,000.
Ho is now married and has two daughters, one aged two and the other born on Jan 1 this year. His wife and other family members were present in court yesterday.
A report by the Health Sciences Authority (HSA) showed that the victim’s blood and urine samples also contained Diazepam — a drug commonly used as a date-rape drug.
While delivering the sentence yesterday, Justice Chan Seng Onn said the events could have taken a worse turn, if not for the timely intervention of the hotel staff.
