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www.corpun.com   :  Archive   :  2001   :  SG Judicial Apr 2001

-- THE ARCHIVE --


SINGAPORE
Judicial CP - April 2001



Corpun file 6740

masthead

The New Paper, Singapore, 2 April 2001

Killed over a pot of curry

JAIL AND CANING

AH Lone (above), 20, Soe Win, 31, and Muang Soe, 31, were charged with manslaughter in High Court on Friday.

The trio were also charged with entering Singapore illegally from the Mon district of Myanmar and overstaying.

All three pleaded guilty to the charges.

Each of them were sentenced to seven years in jail and six strokes of the cane for manslaughter.

For illegal entry and overstaying, Ah Lone was given one month and three strokes, while Soe Win and Muang Soe were each given three months and six strokes.

The sentences for the two charges for each of them are to run consecutively.

INJURIES

Dr Gilbert Lau, the forensic pathologist who conducted Win Aung's autopsy, said that Win Aung had died of "a severe head injury".

Last June, a 45-year-old illegal immigrant's decomposed body was found in the bird sanctuary on Marina Promenade, off Republic Avenue. The undergrowth there was home to several Myanmar nationals, three of whom caused the man's death. It was hunger and fear that drove these men to desperation, reports TANYA FONG
A POT of beef curry and a handful of rice.
Not sufficient to feed one man fully.
But enough to get him killed.
On June 18 last year, Win Aung died over the meagre supper he was cooking in the undergrowth a stone's throw away from the National Stadium.
The 45-year-old was clubbed to death by three men.
KILLED BY FAMILY
Two of them, Soe Win, 31, and Muang Soe, 31, were his nephews.
The third, Ah Lone, 20, was his cousin.
Besides blood ties, another bond bound the four together in Singapore.
They were all illegal immigrants from Myanmar.
Fleeing from poverty in their country, they entered Singapore illegally in search of jobs but were stalked daily by the fear of being discovered and deported.
Home was a couple of canvases strung over branches in the jungle.
Their beds were discarded wooden doors scavenged out of garbage bins.
It was a dark dismal place, infested by mosquitoes. There was no electricity or water.
The nearby sea was their source of water and they would haul water in plastic soft-drink bottles.
In the day, they would hang around Golden Mile Plaza along Beach Road, hoping to get picked up for work.
At night, after a hard day's work, they would walk back from Beach Road to their hide-out at Marina Promenade.
The victim lived there with his brother, Ye Aung, and Ah Lone.
Ah Lone was hopping from one construction site to another in search of jobs when he met Muang Soe and Soe Win at the Golden Mile Plaza.
The three became inseparable and stayed in the shanty with Win Aung and his brother.
That night, the trio walked back to their den after the usual drinking bout at the Golden Mile Plaza.
When they reached the place, they saw the curry bubbling in a pot over charcoals on the ground.
There was no one around.
So, they decided to help themselves to the food.
But as they were about to eat, Win Aung descended on them.
He scolded them for eating his food without his permission and hit Ah Lone with a stick.
It sparked off a wild fight in the dark with kin attacking kin.
LEFT TO DIE
As Win Aung shouted to his brother, Ye Aung, to come and thrash the thieves, the young men panicked.
Ah Lone picked up a stick and hit Win Aung a couple of times until the older man fell to the ground.
el,4 At this point, according to Ah Lone, Muang Soe passed a stone to Soe Win and Soe Win threw it at the fallen Win Aung. Then, all three took to their heels.
Win Aung was left alone to die in the bird sanctuary.
THE CASE
WIN Aung, a 45-year-old Myanmar national, was beaten with wooden sticks and left to die in the forested area. His body was so badly decomposed that his hair fell out, exposing his badly-cracked skull.
His corpse was found last June.
The Police Intelligence Department received information about the killing and worked hand-in-hand with the Special Investigation Department.
They carried out island-wide inquiries and established the identities of the other three Myanmar nationals.
They also combed areas popular with Myanmar nationals, such as the Golden Mile Plaza.
It took less than a week to solve the case.
The three men were arrested after police ambushed them near the Woodlands MRT station on June 23.



Corpun file 6750

masthead

The Straits Times, Singapore, 4 April 2001

Army sergeant gets jail, cane for raping teen

He was obsessed by her even after she rejected him

By Alethea Lim
Court correspondent

A YOUNG man was so obsessed with an 18-year-old student that he took her to his flat when she was drunk and raped her twice.

Army second sergeant Chang will receive six strokes of the cane.

And because of that obsession, Michael Chang Ying Leong, a 23-year-old second sergeant with the army, was yesterday sentenced to eight years' jail and six strokes of the cane.

In sentencing him, Justice Kan Ting Chiu noted that Chang thought he was 'wooing' the girl.

He also pointed out that although the accused did not use violence, threaten or wrongfully confine his victim, the youth had not admitted his guilt and instead claimed trial.

At the end of a seven-day trial, Chang was convicted of raping the girl in the early hours of Dec 19, 1999, at his flat in Yung An Road in Jurong.

Throughout the hearing, he denied he had done so, reiterating that the girl had agreed to have sex with him.

He met the girl on Dec 1 that year when she was working as a part-time waitress at the Sole Luna pub in Holland Village.

Chang dated the girl once - on Dec 10, 1999. That evening, when he expressed his interest in starting a relationship with her over dinner, she rejected him.

On the night of the rape, the girl reluctantly accepted his invitation to go to the Sole Luna pub for some drinks with him and a group of his friends.

She became drunk and Chang got a friend to take them to his flat.

There, he raped her twice when she was too intoxicated to protest and fight back.

In their closing arguments, Deputy Public Prosecutors Mohamed Nasser Ismail and Jared Pereira said that between Dec 10 and Dec 18, 1999, Chang had called and paged the victim at least 27 times from his mobile phone.

He also tried numerous other times from his office and home phones during that period but the victim only responded to a few of the pages, and then it was to stop his persistent paging.

Despite her rejection, he still regarded her as his girlfriend. He was obsessed with her, they said.

The DPPs argued that Chang did not take 'due care' or pay attention to the victim's wishes on the night of the rape.

Instead, he assumed that because the victim did not object, she implicitly agreed to have sex, they said.

Chang stood expressionless in the dock when the sentence was pronounced.

The girl, who was in court to hear the verdict, said: 'I don't hate him. But I just want to get on with my life now.'

Copyright © 2001 Singapore Press Holdings. All rights reserved.




Corpun file 6752

masthead

The Straits Times, Singapore, 6 April 2001

Bus driver molested 15-year-old

He lied to her about where the bus was headed, and molested her after refusing to open the doors

By Elena Chong

A TRANS-ISLAND bus driver molested a 15-year-old girl who was the lone passenger in his bus after he lied that it would take her to Chinatown.

Bus driver Kevin Mohan S. Chinniah was sentenced to 30 months' jail and four strokes of the cane.

But the bus which Kevin Mohan S. Chinniah, 43, drove on Jan 8 was for a loop service for the Woodlands area.

When he returned to the Woodlands interchange at 10.25 am, after all the other passengers had got off along the route, he refused to open the doors to let the Malaysian girl out.

He parked the vehicle at the bus bay and told her to sit with him in the back seat, said Deputy Public Prosecutor Monica Wong Li Tein.

The girl, who lives with her father here, refused.

Mohan then went up to her and fondled her right breast. She scolded him and got up to stop him. He also stood up. She then asked him to open the doors but he ignored her.

When she went near the front door, Mohan asked where she was from and fondled her breasts again.

When she tried to push him away, he touched her pubic area.

Again, she told him to open the door but he refused.

When Mohan said he wanted to meet her again that evening, she agreed as she wanted to trap him. They arranged to meet at the Woodlands MRT station.

Before letting her alight, he touched her breasts again and told her not to tell anyone about what he did.

That evening, the girl called her foster-uncle and told him what had happened.

He accompanied her to Woodlands MRT station and kept watch from a distance.

When Mohan met her, she signalled to her foster-uncle, who called the police. They then arrested him.

Counsel Niraiselvan said in his mitigation plea that his client was overcome with temptation.

A first offender, he was very remorseful for what he had done. His wife is looking after their 3½-year-old daughter who was born premature and has a hole in the heart.

Mohan, who has been with the bus company for 11 years, had claimed trial but decided to plead guilty mid-way through cross-examination of the victim.

In sentencing him to 30 months' jail and four strokes of the cane, District Judge Audrey Lim took into account the fact that he had touched the girl three times and that the molest continued for a very long time.

Mohan could have been jailed for up to 10 years and caned for wrongful restraint during the molest.

Copyright © 2001 Singapore Press Holdings. All rights reserved.




Corpun file 6768

masthead

The New Paper, Singapore, 9 April 2001

Christmas punches land him in jail

By Andre Yeo


JAILED

On April 3, See Seng Guek was convicted of two charges of moneylending without a licence and rioting.
He was sentenced to 18 months' jail, fined $10,000 and given six strokes of the cane.
For moneylending, he could have been fined up to $200,000 and jailed up to a year or both.
For rioting, he could have been jailed up to five years and caned.
Ng Chee Peng had earlier pleaded guilty to rioting and was sentenced to a year's jail and given six strokes of the cane.
Lai Teck Guan, 26, was sentenced to seven years' corrective training and given six strokes of the cane for rioting. He was given another three strokes for taking drugs.
Lim Poh Hin was jailed four months for being part of an unlawful assembly.

SHE asked for help. Instead, she received a punch in the face and her boyfriend was roughed up as well.
And to think that all this happened on Christmas Day.
On Dec 25, 1999, Mr Tay Eng Sung, 30, and Ms Tan Bee Hoon, 29, were celebrating at the Golden Honey KTV Lounge on Upper Bukit Timah Road.
Mr Tay got drunk and ended up on the floor. So, Ms Tan asked Ng Chee Peng, 26, a patron, to help lift him onto the sofa.
He refused - and she shout vulgarities at him.
An angry Ng went to his pals - moneylender See Seng Guek (above), 35, and Lim Poh Hin, 33.
See asked her to step outside the lounge.
The minute she did, See punched her.
When Mr Tay asked the moneylender why he hit her, See punched him too.
Lim also called out to his other cronies inside the lounge.
About 10 other men came out and joined Ng in kicking and punching Mr Tay in the face and head. Then they took to their heels.
The injured couple were taken to National University Hospital.
Mr Tay suffered deep cuts on his head and face. Ms Tan had injuries to her face and left eye.



Corpun file 6770

masthead

The New Paper, Singapore, 12 April 2001

He punched one cop on the nose, another in the eye

By Joycelyn Wong


JAILED AND CANED

Yongyut Ekanert was jailed nine months on each charge of committing theft, and six months on each charge of voluntarily causing hurt.

He was also jailed three months and given six strokes of the cane for entering Singapore illegally.

Four of the sentences are to run consecutively, making a total of 27 months in jail.

For committing theft, he could have been jailed up to three years or fined or both.

For voluntarily causing hurt to a public servant, he could have been jailed up to five years, or fined, or caned, or given any two of such punishments.

For entering Singapore illegally, he could have been jailed up to six months and caned at least three strokes.

HE entered Singapore illegally.
Then, he stole wires from a factory and finally, to make things worse for himself, Yongyut Ekanert (left), 49, punched a policeman on the nose, and a second in the eye.
On Monday, a Subordinate Court heard how Yongyut, a Thai national, entered Singapore illegally on March 2 this year by boat from Malaysia.
He landed in Woodlands and headed for the Golden Mile Complex.
On March 19 this year, at about 12.30am, the jobless Yongyut stole some cable wires from Uni Cable Company at Gul Circle.
He cut up the wires into smaller pieces and took a taxi to the Golden Mile Complex.
During the day, he sold the wires to a rag-and-bone man for $40.
The next day, at about 2.15am, Yongyut returned to the same factory to steal again.
WENT WITH ACCOMPLICES
This time, he went with two accomplices, who are also Thai nationals.
But the police had laid a trap for them and caught them stealing the wires.
When the posse tried to arrest the trio, Yongyut tried to resist. He hit Corporal Tan Lai Heng, 21, in his right eye and punched Sergeant Chia Kim Hua, 32, on his nose.
Yongyut has a previous conviction for illegal entry - convicted of entering Singapore illegally in 1997, he was jailed for one month and given three strokes of the cane.
Back in court again on Monday, he was charged with two counts of committing theft, two counts of voluntarily causing hurt to a public servant and one count of entering Singapore without a valid pass.
He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 27 months' jail and six strokes of the cane.
Mr Ronny Tan, the plant manager of Uni Cable Company, told The New Paper the theft had cost his company $30,000. The wires were power cables meant for industrial use.



Corpun file 6842

masthead

The Straits Times, Singapore, 18 April 2001

Stiffer sentence for vicious attack on wife

He poured boiling water, attacked her with a chopper

By Elena Chong

THE Chief Justice called him a very dangerous man.

Martin Yong, 47, unemployed, had poured boiling water on his wife while she slept, then attacked her with a chopper.

Three years, 12 strokes for Yong from the CJ.

For the viciousness of the assault, the CJ yesterday more than doubled Yong's sentence to three years in jail and 12 strokes of the cane.

Yong had earlier been sentenced to 15 months' jail and four strokes of the cane for fracturing Madam Ng Hong New's facial bones with the chopper at their Ang Mo Kio home on Dec 22 last year.

These injuries were inflicted after he poured boiling water onto her neck, cheek, abdomen and hip. For this, he had been given four months' jail, to run concurrently.

Madam Ng, 42, a coffeeshop assistant, was warded for three days.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Hee Mee Lin said the sentence was manifestly inadequate for such a vicious attack.

Yong, she said, had repeatedly and continually rained blows on his defenceless wife, and had used boiling water to inflict pain and disfigure her.

Her face was fractured in the unprovoked attack and Madam Ng had to be hospitalised.

'This was a totally unprovoked and unwarranted attack. The victim had neither done nor said anything to warrant such a attack,' she said.

She said the district judge had failed to consider that the injuries would scar and disfigure the woman for life, nor had he taken into account the mental and psychological trauma she suffered.

Yong had not shown any remorse, she added.

The DPP said the judge had wrongly inferred that Yong's delusional disorder would have impaired his mental faculties, when there was no such evidence to back this.

Yong, who was not represented yesterday, said he was very sorry. He told the court that he had to take care of his elderly mother and his younger child while his wife worked. He then broke down in court.

The CJ, who read out the district judge's grounds of decision, said Yong had suspected that his wife had been unfaithful and had demanded sex on the day of the attack.

She agreed but when she refused to remove her upper garments, he suspected that she was hiding something and attacked her.

Yong said in his written plea that his wife and three sons had forgiven him, and that he would never abuse her again.

Copyright © 2001 Singapore Press Holdings. All rights reserved.




Corpun file 6823

masthead

The New Paper, Singapore, 19 April 2001

Molested in the lift

By Joycelyn Wong

JAILED


Harun Amir Hossain (above) was charged with one count of using criminal force with intent to outrage modesty.

He was jailed nine months and given three strokes of the cane.

He could have been jailed up to two years, or fined, or caned, or given any two of such punishments.

TRAPPED!
That's how the 33-year-maid felt.
And, scared and humiliated as well.
And to think that this was happening to her on home territory. The building on Upper Bukit Timah Road where she worked.
Inside the lift that she used every day.
But that evening on Jan 11 evening was different.
When she stepped into the lift on the second floor around 7.10pm, it was empty.
She pressed the button, it started going up with her.
Then, it stopped on the sixth floor.
The door opened.
In walked a stranger.
It was Harun Amir Hossain, a cleaner working in the same building.
The door closed.
The lift started going up again.
And her journey into terror began.
Harun went to stand behind her. Then, he suddenly squeezed her breasts.
She was shocked. And terrified.
She asked him to stop, but he ignored her.
When the lift door opened on the ninth floor, she tried to dart out.
But he was too quick for her. Harun blocked the way and cut off her retreat.
All the while, he went on squeezing her breasts.
He continued molesting her as the lift, with just the two of them, went up to the 26th floor.
She tried to break out of his grip, but she was no match for him.
Then, the lift began the slow ride down to the ninth floor. This time, when the door opened, she managed to run out.
She sprinted down to the ground floor and told a security officer what had happened.
Soon, she saw Harun walking towards them and pointed him out.
Harun was detained and the police were called.
On April 9, Harun was charged with using criminal force to outrage the modesty of the maid.
In his mitigation, he said he was new to Singapore and was supporting his mother and young siblings.



Corpun file 6852

masthead

The Straits Times, Singapore, 21 April 2001

Lounge manager was stabbed to death by gang

One of the six attackers -- who had fled to Malaysia but was arrested on his return -- gets 10 years' jail

By Elena Chong

SIX men ganged up on a karaoke-lounge manager for allegedly molesting one of their women friends, the High Court heard yesterday.

Now remorseful, Loh will also get 10 strokes of the cane.

Mr Ong Chai Poh, 37, later died from three stab wounds, inflicted during the attack on a vacant piece of land off Punggol 24th Avenue on Feb 11, 1997.

Loh Beng Lea, 28, fled to Malaysia after the stabbing. He was arrested on Dec 5 last year when he returned to Singapore.

Yesterday, the unemployed man admitted committing culpable homicide with Randolph Gene Koh, 47, and four others by stabbing Mr Ong with knives. Koh is now serving 10 years' jail for the offence. The other four are still at large.

In sentencing Loh to 10 years in prison and 10 strokes of the cane, Judicial Commissioner Chan Seng Onn told Loh he was very lucky the DPP did not proceed with a murder charge.

'You have a life ahead of you but you decided to engage in acts of gangsterism which cannot be tolerated and call for a deterrent sentence,' he said.

He said Koh, sentenced in 1997, was not caned as he had a mental abnormality then.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Han Ming Kuang said Mr Ong and six friends arrived at the Punggol seafront in the early hours of Feb 11, 1997, to drink beer. They had been drinking earlier at Lucky Crystal Karaoke Lounge in Serangoon Road, which Mr Ong managed.

Loh's group arrived later. Among them were Koh, his wife and three women.

Some time after 5 am, after Loh and most of his group had left the place, Mr Ong allegedly molested the sister of Loh's girlfriend.

When Loh heard about her allegation, he called Koh. The two then picked up some unknown accomplices and knives in Havelock Road before proceeding to Punggol.

Koh confronted Mr Ong. When he denied the allegation, Koh stabbed him repeatedly in the face, chest and back. Loh and another man, who was armed with a letter opener, fought with Mr Ong, who was then stabbed by some others.

In mitigation, defence counsel Lim Swee Tee said his client was deeply remorseful. He had played a more minor role than Koh.

But DPP Han said Koh could not have committed the offence without Loh. He also said it was clear that Loh and his accomplices were the aggressors.

Copyright © 2001 Singapore Press Holdings. All rights reserved.



blob Follow-up: 29 September 2007 - Duo jailed for fatal stabbing 10 years ago




Corpun file 6853

masthead

The Straits Times, Singapore, 21 April 2001

Schizophrenic killer jailed for life

By Elena Chong

A SCHIZOPHRENIC who stabbed a seaman to death was yesterday jailed for life and ordered to be given six strokes of the cane.

A man with a history of aggression, Wee (centre) has been suffering from chronic schizophrenia for the last 20 years. -- LIANHE WANBAO

Wee Eng Jong, 45, who has suffered from the mental illness for 20 years, had been in and out of Woodbridge Hospital and had a history of aggression, the court heard.

On the night of Nov 8 last year, Wee stabbed Mr Foo Wah Soon, 47, 15 times after an argument at a coffeeshop at Block 30, Toa Payoh Lorong 5.

Yesterday, Wee, who was charged originally with murder, pleaded guilty to the amended charge of culpable homicide.

According to Woodbridge Hospital's associate consultant, Dr Tommy Tan, Wee has chronic schizophrenia and needs life-long treatment so that he will not be a danger to society.

Wee, the court heard, had often absconded from Woodbridge Hospital while being admitted.

The unemployed man was first admitted in 1981 for hitting his mother. He was warded subsequently for throwing various things out from his Toa Payoh flat. He also became aggressive when he was not given money.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Lee Lit Cheng said that on the evening of Nov 8, the victim, Mr Foo, and his friend were at the coffee- shop at Block 30 when they saw Wee disturbing a female beer promoter by blocking her way. The two men intervened.

That led to a fight between Wee and Mr Foo at the open space in front of the block at 10.50 pm.

Mr Foo died in hospital shortly after midnight. He had two fatal knife wounds in the heart and another two on his upper right arm.

When police arrested Wee later in Toa Payoh, he had a knife handle in his shorts pocket. Police found a blood-stained broken knife blade at the scene of the killing.

Wee told the police in his statement that a woman had scolded him after he used the coffeeshop toilet.

He claimed that Mr Foo, who had on previous occasions bought him drinks, assaulted him. He did not understand why, so he stabbed Mr Foo continuously with a knife.

The DPP said Wee, who has nine previous convictions, had a history of aggression and violence and urged the court to impose the maximum sentence of life imprisonment.




Corpun file 6855

masthead

The New Paper, Singapore, 21 April 2001

This man talks - with a knife

He settles disputes with a knife and chopper. Both his 'discussion partners' end up in hospital

By Lee Tee Jong


JAILED


Visvalingam Vadivelu received nine strokes of the cane and was sentenced to three-and-a-half years' jail.

For voluntarily causing hurt with a knife, he could have been jailed up to five years or fined or caned or any of the two.

HE had a violent way of settling scores.
He would ask the person against whom he had a grievance for a "settlement" dialogue.
And Visvalingam Vadivelu (left), 28, would make his knife talk.
On two occasions, his discussion partners ended up in hospital.
The first one to incur his wrath was a girlfriend's uncle, Mr Iqbal Ahmad Shah, 39.
FIRST VICTIM
On December 10 last year, Mr Iqbal called Visvalingam, telling him not to go out with his niece anymore as she was still in school.
Visvalingam started arguing with the shipyard supervisor.
Then he wanted to meet him to talk it over.
Mr Iqbal refused.
Undeterred, Visvalingam called again.
To say that he was going to Mr Iqbal's house.
A bemused Mr Iqbal still doesn't know how Visvalingam got hold of his address.
He came with a companion and made a scene outside Mr Iqbal's flat.
As the older man did not want to upset the neighbours, he took the lift down to the void deck to talk.
He was totally unprepared for what followed.
KICKED AND STABBED
Visvalingam suddenly kicked him from behind.
Said Mr Iqbal: "I felt a sharp pain in my back as I stumbled."
Visvalingam had taken out a knife and stabbed him thrice in the back.
He also slashed Mr Iqbal's right waist.
The injured man shouted for help.
Only then did Visvalingam and his friend take to their heels.
Mr Iqbal fainted.
When he came around, he dragged himself painfully to his flat.
His nephew called the police.
The injured man was sent to Singapore General Hospital for treatment.
Visvalingam showed no signs of repenting.
A month later, he struck again.
SECOND VICTIM
This time, the victim was Mr Sitarasu Singaram, 32, a businessman.
Mr Sitarasu was attending his brother's death anniversary when Visvalingam called him.
He said he had a bone to pick with his brother and wanted to thrash it out with Mr Sitarasu.
They met at the void deck of the HDB block in Clementi, where Mr Sitarasu's mother lived.
They started quarrelling.
Once again, Visvalingam made his weapon talk.
This time, it was a chopper.
He slashed Mr Sitarasu's right elbow with it.
Mr Sitarasu tried to run.
Visvalingam went after him with the chopper and struck him on the left shoulder.
A bleeding Mr Sitarasu somehow managed to reach his mother's flat.
His brother-in-law, Mr Segaran Muniandy, called the police.
Finally, Visvalingam's crimes came home to roost.
SENTENCED
On April 11, he was charged with two counts of voluntarily causing hurt with a knife.
He pleaded guilty to both charges and received nine strokes of the cane as well as three-and-a-half years' jail.



Corpun file 6862

masthead

The Straits Times, Singapore, 27 April 2001

Man who raped 58-year-old woman jailed

AN INDIAN national charged with molesting and raping a 58-year-old cleaner was yesterday sentenced to 10 years' jail and 14 strokes of the cane.

Rapist Solaiyan faces three other charges.

The prosecution pressed for a deterrent sentence against Solaiyan Arumugam, 26, who claimed repeatedly that he was innocent.

The prosecution's case was that on the evening of July 31, the victim spotted Solaiyan on her way home. As she walked along the footpath, he grabbed her from behind, covered her mouth and nose, dragged her into some bushes, and raped her.

'I had nothing to do with this offence,' Solaiyan told the court after Judicial Commissioner Choo Han Teck convicted him of squeezing the cleaner's breast and raping her.

'There is no connection between me and this case. Please help me.'

He said he was prepared to accept any punishment for an offence he had committed, but in this case, he did not rape the woman.

'Please believe me. I am prepared to walk on fire to say I have not committed this offence,' he added.

JC Choo sentenced him to 10 years' jail and 12 strokes of the cane for rape, and two years and two strokes for molest. The jail sentences are concurrent.

Solaiyan, who was unrepresented, said in his defence that he had never seen the woman before, nor was he present at the scene of the crime.

He claimed the woman was lying when she said that she had seen the side of his face under a nearby lamp-post.

In asking for a stiff sentence, Deputy Public Prosecutor Adriel Loh said it was in the public's interest that the court send a clear message that those who dare threaten the streets will be dealt with severely.

Solaiyan, he said, had lain in wait like a predator, using darkness as a cover for his dastardly act.

He had used force in gripping the victim's throat and covering her mouth to stop her from screaming.

He had not relented despite the small-built woman telling him that she was sick and needed to take her medication.

'He was oblivious to her trauma and fixated on satisfying himself,' DPP Loh added.

Solaiyan has three other outstanding charges which will be dealt with later.

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