A man who harboured romantic feelings for a woman he knew from secondary school claimed he was a medium and performed fake rituals, purportedly to get rid of "ghosts" following her.

The 23-year-old man then took the chance to repeatedly rape and sexually assault the 25-year-old victim. He also intended to get her pregnant to force her to stay by his side.

On Thursday (Sep 7), the man was sentenced to 18 years, 11 months and three weeks' jail, along with 16 strokes of the cane for the offences in 2019.

He pleaded guilty to two counts of rape and one count of sexual assault by penetration. Four charges involving sexual offences were considered for sentencing.

Neither the victim nor the accused can be named due to a gag order protecting the woman's identity. Based on an IQ test, the woman's overall adaptive living skills were assessed by the Institute of Mental Health to fall within the below-average range of functioning.

The two became acquainted in secondary school, with the victim addressing the accused as "kor" – meaning older brother.

They rekindled their friendship in 2019 after the accused contacted the victim on Facebook. The accused would drive the victim to and from work and have dinner with her and another friend.

While he had romantic feelings for her, she did not reciprocate them as she was still interested in an ex-boyfriend.

Before the offences, the accused told the victim that he had been helping at a temple and was a medium or "God of Chang E's rabbit", the court heard. He brought her to the temple a few times.

Sometime in mid-2019, while at the victim's home, the man told her there were spirits following her and her sister, and that there were ghosts in her house.

"The accused assured (her) that as a medium, he could perform consecration rituals to get rid of the ghosts and ensure that no harm would come to the victim and her sister," the prosecution told the court.

These "rituals" would be performed at his or her house and he provided the victim with amulets and talismans.

In the initial phases, the man would perform the rituals with the victim fully clothed. Subsequently, he told the victim to remove her clothes and he drew talismans on her body.

Under the pretext of performing rituals, he sexually assaulted her between Jul 22 and Jul 27, 2019. Even though the victim was reluctant, he convinced her that the acts were necessary.

After an incident on Jul 27, 2019, the victim confided in her friends about the rites and was advised to lodge a police report. She did so two days later.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Sruthi Boppana sought 17 to 23 years' jail and 16 strokes of the cane, citing the accused's premeditation and abuse of trust as aggravating factors.

"Representing that he was a temple medium who could help get rid of ghosts and spirits who were following her and her sister, the accused sexually exploited the victim at his whim," said Ms Boppana.

"The accused had no qualms about capitalising on the victim’s naivety and deceiving her into believing that he needed to perform these sexual acts to prevent harm from befalling her or her sister."

The man had put himself forward as a spiritual leader and the victim looked up to him and trusted his guidance but he exploited her, the prosecution said. He knew that she had no intention to be with him but he intended to impregnate her.

The man, represented by lawyers Cheryl Sim and Kalaithasan Karuppaya, argued for up to 16 years' jail and 14 strokes of the cane.

Ms Sim said that the man was deeply remorseful for his actions and had written a letter of apology to the victim to express his regret. The man, who is single and lives with his parents, is a first-time offender who pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity, said the defence lawyer.

"He is doing his best to work hard as a valet driver after he was terminated from his previous employment," said the man.

After the man was sentenced, Mr Kalaithasan asked that the man be allowed to celebrate his birthday in the last week of September before commencing his sentence, as he would be "away for a significant number of years". Justice Pang Khang Chau allowed the request.

For rape, the man could have been jailed for up to 20 years, and fined or caned. For sexual assault by penetration, he could have been jailed for up to 20 years, and fined or caned. 

Source:
courtesy of TODAY

by KOH WAN TING

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