SINGAPORE: A nondescript flat in Marsiling where runaway girls drank alcohol and made friends later became the setting for gang rapes, with one 16-year-old suffering post-traumatic stress disorder from the sexual violence.
Plied with alcohol or truth-or-dare games, the teenagers were sexually assaulted and raped by up to three men while they were intoxicated.
One of the rapists, 20-year-old Muhammad Uzair Abdul Rahman, was sentenced by the High Court to 16 years' jail and 20 strokes of the cane on Friday (Oct 6).
He pleaded guilty to two charges of rape and one of sexual penetration of a minor, with another five charges taken into consideration.
The court heard that Uzair was an 18-year-old full-time national serviceman at the time of the offences and would often hang out at the one-room flat of his co-accused, a 36-year-old man, at Block 3, Marsiling Road.
The older man lived alone and regularly invited large groups of people, including Uzair, to drink alcohol in the flat.
Two of Uzair's victims were 14 years old at the time in May 2021 and had run away from home and school.
One of them, identified only as V2 in court documents, was introduced to Uzair's group of friends in May 2021 through a friend.
At the time, V2 was on the run after being placed in a girls' home. There was a warrant of arrest against her issued by a youth court.
V2 stayed at the flat as she had nowhere else to go and one of the men who frequented the flat warned the others not to do anything to her as she was only 14.
Despite this, multiple sexual offences were committed against V2. She was pressured into sexual acts in the bedroom during games of truth or dare and told she had to comply since "it was a dare".
The owner of the flat sexually assaulted V2 in Uzair's presence. After the first "dare", she burst into tears and said she no longer wanted to play the game but was nonetheless pressured into other sex acts.
In May 2021, when V2 became drunk at the flat and was drifting in and out of consciousness, she was group-raped by Uzair, his 18-year-old cousin and the flat owner.
In June 2021, after V2 was caught by the police and returned to her girls' home, she confided in a counsellor about the rapes and a police report was lodged.
Another victim, V3, ran away from home in February 2021 and was introduced by a friend to Uzair's group.
She began hanging out with them at the Marsiling flat, drinking alcohol, chatting and playing games.
Between April and May in 2021, Uzair made multiple sexual advances towards V3, who was 14 at the time.
Despite her rejections, he continued to pursue her and molested her on a few occasions.
In late May 2021 at the Marsiling flat, Uzair prepared Coca-Cola mixed with extra amounts of alcohol for her and she became increasingly drunk and vomited.
Uzair then sexually assaulted her. When V3 woke up, she saw V4, a 15-year-old girl who was also sexually assaulted by Uzair, lying next to her.
She did not report the incident as she knew the police were looking for her as she had run away from home.
The offences came to light only during police investigations into the other rapes.
On Jun 12, 2021, a 16-year-old girl named as V1 in court documents was drinking with some friends and acquaintances at Admiralty Park when Uzair and his friends approached them on their electric scooters and shared a bottle of whiskey with them.
The group went to the Marsiling flat. V1 did not want to go as she did not feel well, but was taken there on an e-scooter anyway.
More than 10 people gathered in the flat past midnight on Jun 13, 2021, drinking whiskey. V1, who was intoxicated, had refused more alcohol but was forced to drink whiskey.
While waiting at the flat for a friend to fetch her, V1 was molested and sexually assaulted in the bedroom by four men, including Uzair, while other men watched.
He knew that he was taking advantage of V1, who could not stop her attackers because of her intoxication.
V1 drifted in and out of consciousness as she was raped. She felt that she was being passed around and knew that she was being violated by several men, said the prosecutors.
Knocking on the front door stopped the men - it was V1's friends who had come to pick her up. They were worried about her, as she had not been answering her phone. The friends had also informed V1's ex-boyfriend and brother to head down as they feared that she was in trouble.
Initially, the flat owner answered the door and denied knowing V1 before shutting the door. But V1's friends persisted and V1 was eventually helped out of the flat before telling her friends she had been raped.
Her friend confronted the four men who were at the flat, who denied doing anything.
The confrontation turned violent when V1's ex-boyfriend and her two brothers arrived and a passer-by called the police.
Uzair was arrested that same day and has been remanded since.
V1 was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder due to the gang rape. She felt jumpy and easily scared whenever she thought about what happened.
She also avoided people and places that reminded her of the incident and had flashbacks and nightmares.
She also had difficulty expressing her feelings to others, feeling withdrawn and not close to her friends. She also suffered deep feelings of shame and hurt, the court heard.
The prosecution called for 13-and-a-half years to 15 years' jail for Uzair and 24 strokes of the cane.
Defence lawyers Pramnath Vijayakumar and Ms Shirin Chew from the Law Society Pro Bono Services asked for a reformative training report to be called for.
In the alternative, they sought a jail term between 11 years and four months and 12 years and four months, along with nine strokes of the cane.
The prosecutors said reformative training should be rejected as it is "not a viable sentencing option in this case".
"Rape is one of the most heinous and vile crimes under our laws," said Deputy Public Prosecutor Shamini Joseph, adding that Uzair committed rape against two young victims who were heavily intoxicated and unable to fend for themselves.
On top of his rape charges, he also has serious sexual charges against two other young victims V3 and V4.
The victims were violated in multiple ways, either consecutively or simultaneously, with one victim moved around "like a ragdoll" for the men's sexual gratification, said Ms Joseph.
There was a pattern of offending by Uzair where he and his co-accused would ply young victims with alcohol and exploit their vulnerability by committing serious sexual offences against them in the bedroom, she said.
The defence said the court is dealing with a young offender who was 18 at the time. He is remorseful, pleading guilty and ensuring the victims do not need to relive the trauma by coming to court, said Mr Vijayakumar.
He said his client shows capacity for rehabilitation and has "strong familial support".
Justice Mavis Chionh said this is a case where rehabilitation had to "yield to other sentencing considerations".
The victims were intoxicated and defenceless and subjected to the "aggravated terror of group rape", said Justice Chionh.
Uzair also exposed them to the risk of sexually transmitted diseases and pregnancy. Despite V3 repeatedly rejecting his advances, he was very persistent, escalating the boldness of his advances against her, said the judge.
While she noted his young age and his guilty plea, Justice Chionh said it was clear that Uzair had preyed on vulnerable young victims and "had no compunction in participating in group rape of such victims".
He said the way he exploited them, when they had been plied with alcohol either by himself or his co-accused, was "nothing short of reprehensible".
"At 20 years old, he is still young and ... has his whole life ahead of him," said Justice Chionh, adding that he had time to reflect on the gravity of his offences and become a "responsible member of society".
The cases for the co-accused are pending.
Continue reading...
Plied with alcohol or truth-or-dare games, the teenagers were sexually assaulted and raped by up to three men while they were intoxicated.
One of the rapists, 20-year-old Muhammad Uzair Abdul Rahman, was sentenced by the High Court to 16 years' jail and 20 strokes of the cane on Friday (Oct 6).
He pleaded guilty to two charges of rape and one of sexual penetration of a minor, with another five charges taken into consideration.
The court heard that Uzair was an 18-year-old full-time national serviceman at the time of the offences and would often hang out at the one-room flat of his co-accused, a 36-year-old man, at Block 3, Marsiling Road.
The older man lived alone and regularly invited large groups of people, including Uzair, to drink alcohol in the flat.
Two of Uzair's victims were 14 years old at the time in May 2021 and had run away from home and school.
One of them, identified only as V2 in court documents, was introduced to Uzair's group of friends in May 2021 through a friend.
At the time, V2 was on the run after being placed in a girls' home. There was a warrant of arrest against her issued by a youth court.
V2 stayed at the flat as she had nowhere else to go and one of the men who frequented the flat warned the others not to do anything to her as she was only 14.
Despite this, multiple sexual offences were committed against V2. She was pressured into sexual acts in the bedroom during games of truth or dare and told she had to comply since "it was a dare".
The owner of the flat sexually assaulted V2 in Uzair's presence. After the first "dare", she burst into tears and said she no longer wanted to play the game but was nonetheless pressured into other sex acts.
In May 2021, when V2 became drunk at the flat and was drifting in and out of consciousness, she was group-raped by Uzair, his 18-year-old cousin and the flat owner.
In June 2021, after V2 was caught by the police and returned to her girls' home, she confided in a counsellor about the rapes and a police report was lodged.
V3, ANOTHER RUNAWAY
Another victim, V3, ran away from home in February 2021 and was introduced by a friend to Uzair's group.
She began hanging out with them at the Marsiling flat, drinking alcohol, chatting and playing games.
Between April and May in 2021, Uzair made multiple sexual advances towards V3, who was 14 at the time.
Despite her rejections, he continued to pursue her and molested her on a few occasions.
In late May 2021 at the Marsiling flat, Uzair prepared Coca-Cola mixed with extra amounts of alcohol for her and she became increasingly drunk and vomited.
Uzair then sexually assaulted her. When V3 woke up, she saw V4, a 15-year-old girl who was also sexually assaulted by Uzair, lying next to her.
She did not report the incident as she knew the police were looking for her as she had run away from home.
The offences came to light only during police investigations into the other rapes.
THE CASE OF V1
On Jun 12, 2021, a 16-year-old girl named as V1 in court documents was drinking with some friends and acquaintances at Admiralty Park when Uzair and his friends approached them on their electric scooters and shared a bottle of whiskey with them.
The group went to the Marsiling flat. V1 did not want to go as she did not feel well, but was taken there on an e-scooter anyway.
More than 10 people gathered in the flat past midnight on Jun 13, 2021, drinking whiskey. V1, who was intoxicated, had refused more alcohol but was forced to drink whiskey.
While waiting at the flat for a friend to fetch her, V1 was molested and sexually assaulted in the bedroom by four men, including Uzair, while other men watched.
He knew that he was taking advantage of V1, who could not stop her attackers because of her intoxication.
V1 drifted in and out of consciousness as she was raped. She felt that she was being passed around and knew that she was being violated by several men, said the prosecutors.
Knocking on the front door stopped the men - it was V1's friends who had come to pick her up. They were worried about her, as she had not been answering her phone. The friends had also informed V1's ex-boyfriend and brother to head down as they feared that she was in trouble.
Initially, the flat owner answered the door and denied knowing V1 before shutting the door. But V1's friends persisted and V1 was eventually helped out of the flat before telling her friends she had been raped.
Her friend confronted the four men who were at the flat, who denied doing anything.
The confrontation turned violent when V1's ex-boyfriend and her two brothers arrived and a passer-by called the police.
Uzair was arrested that same day and has been remanded since.
V1 was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder due to the gang rape. She felt jumpy and easily scared whenever she thought about what happened.
She also avoided people and places that reminded her of the incident and had flashbacks and nightmares.
She also had difficulty expressing her feelings to others, feeling withdrawn and not close to her friends. She also suffered deep feelings of shame and hurt, the court heard.
SENTENCING ARGUMENTS
The prosecution called for 13-and-a-half years to 15 years' jail for Uzair and 24 strokes of the cane.
Defence lawyers Pramnath Vijayakumar and Ms Shirin Chew from the Law Society Pro Bono Services asked for a reformative training report to be called for.
In the alternative, they sought a jail term between 11 years and four months and 12 years and four months, along with nine strokes of the cane.
The prosecutors said reformative training should be rejected as it is "not a viable sentencing option in this case".
"Rape is one of the most heinous and vile crimes under our laws," said Deputy Public Prosecutor Shamini Joseph, adding that Uzair committed rape against two young victims who were heavily intoxicated and unable to fend for themselves.
On top of his rape charges, he also has serious sexual charges against two other young victims V3 and V4.
The victims were violated in multiple ways, either consecutively or simultaneously, with one victim moved around "like a ragdoll" for the men's sexual gratification, said Ms Joseph.
There was a pattern of offending by Uzair where he and his co-accused would ply young victims with alcohol and exploit their vulnerability by committing serious sexual offences against them in the bedroom, she said.
The defence said the court is dealing with a young offender who was 18 at the time. He is remorseful, pleading guilty and ensuring the victims do not need to relive the trauma by coming to court, said Mr Vijayakumar.
He said his client shows capacity for rehabilitation and has "strong familial support".
Justice Mavis Chionh said this is a case where rehabilitation had to "yield to other sentencing considerations".
The victims were intoxicated and defenceless and subjected to the "aggravated terror of group rape", said Justice Chionh.
Uzair also exposed them to the risk of sexually transmitted diseases and pregnancy. Despite V3 repeatedly rejecting his advances, he was very persistent, escalating the boldness of his advances against her, said the judge.
While she noted his young age and his guilty plea, Justice Chionh said it was clear that Uzair had preyed on vulnerable young victims and "had no compunction in participating in group rape of such victims".
He said the way he exploited them, when they had been plied with alcohol either by himself or his co-accused, was "nothing short of reprehensible".
"At 20 years old, he is still young and ... has his whole life ahead of him," said Justice Chionh, adding that he had time to reflect on the gravity of his offences and become a "responsible member of society".
The cases for the co-accused are pending.
Continue reading...