Man gets more than 8 years' jail, caning for sexually assaulting friend's unconscious daughter after night out
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Lim Shu Jie Edwin, 43, sexually assaulted his friend's daughter, who was then 28 years old, at the Singapore Land Tower and in a private-hire car
BY
Updated March 5, 2024
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SINGAPORE — Instead of sending his friend’s daughter home safely when she fell unconscious after some drinks, a 43-year-old man took it as an opportunity to sexually assault and molest her in public and in a private-hire car.
On Tuesday (March 5), Lim Shu Jie Edwin was sentenced to a jail term of eight years and four months as well as 10 strokes of the cane after he was found guilty of two counts of sexual assault by penetration and one count of outrage of modesty in January following a trial.
The victim, then 28 years old, and her father cannot be named due to a gag order protecting their identities.
According to court documents, Lim and the victim met for dinner on April 12, 2019 at Singapore Land Tower in Raffles Place to catch up. This was the first time that they had met up outside of a work setting.
After having dinner and two bottles of wine, the duo left the restaurant when Lim spotted a club-cum-bar nearby.
"Despite the victim stating that she was tired and wished to call it a night, the accused insisted on entering (the bar) for a drink," said the prosecution.
Lim then ordered two glasses of gin and tonic, and they chatted for a while. When Lim left for the washroom, the victim lost consciousness.
When she regained consciousness, she was sitting on a ledge outside the Singapore Land Tower with her upper body slumped over Lim's lap, and Lim was molesting and sexually assaulting her.
She "felt extreme pain and discomfort," said the prosecution.
"The victim slapped the accused’s hand aside repeatedly and told the accused to stop but the accused persisted."
As she was drifting in and out of consciousness, the victim could not recall how the assault came to an end.
Her next memory was of herself in the backseat of a private-hire car, the prosecution said, where Lim was sexually assaulting her again.
Using whatever energy she had, she told Lim to stop and pushed his hand away. Despite that, Lim told her "no" and continued doing so.
The next morning, on April 13, 2019, Lim texted the victim multiple times and apologised for going "overboard".
In response, the victim replied that it was inappropriate that Lim had taken advantage of her, especially since he was a friend of the victim's father.
She blocked him after he apologised again and asked if he could do anything "to make this situation better".
The court heard that the victim made a police report against Lim on July 14, 2019. This was a day after her father found out about the sexual assault from her and told her to make a report.
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They said Lim had taken advantage of the victim's weakened state and "opportunistically sexually assaulted the victim as she drifted in and out of consciousness".
"In the victim’s testimony in court, she also shared that she was aware that she was being sexually assaulted in a public place at Singapore Land Tower and in the Grab (private-hire) car, and felt humiliated, scared and frightened," said the prosecutors.
"Any sentence handed down by this court must reflect society's abhorrence of the accused’s conduct, and serve as adequate retribution for his transgressions."
They added that the sentence should send "a clear signal to like-minded offenders of the court's unequivocal denunciation of this sort of predatory behaviour".
For sexually penetration without consent, Lim could have been jailed for up to 20 years, and fined or caned.
For using criminal force to outrage the modesty of someone, Lim could have been jailed for up to two years, fined, caned or with any combination of the three.
Lim Shu Jie Edwin, 43, sexually assaulted his friend's daughter, who was then 28 years old, at the Singapore Land Tower and in a private-hire car
- She had fallen unconscious after he insisted they head to a bar-cum-club for drinks
- He was sentenced to seven years' and 16 months' jail and 10 strokes of the cane
BY
LORAINE LEE
Published March 5, 2024Updated March 5, 2024
WhatsAppTelegramFacebookTwitterEmailLinkedIn
SINGAPORE — Instead of sending his friend’s daughter home safely when she fell unconscious after some drinks, a 43-year-old man took it as an opportunity to sexually assault and molest her in public and in a private-hire car.
On Tuesday (March 5), Lim Shu Jie Edwin was sentenced to a jail term of eight years and four months as well as 10 strokes of the cane after he was found guilty of two counts of sexual assault by penetration and one count of outrage of modesty in January following a trial.
The victim, then 28 years old, and her father cannot be named due to a gag order protecting their identities.
WHAT HAPPENED
In 2017, Lim became a regular at a cafe the victim's father ran and soon became acquainted with the victim and her father.According to court documents, Lim and the victim met for dinner on April 12, 2019 at Singapore Land Tower in Raffles Place to catch up. This was the first time that they had met up outside of a work setting.
After having dinner and two bottles of wine, the duo left the restaurant when Lim spotted a club-cum-bar nearby.
"Despite the victim stating that she was tired and wished to call it a night, the accused insisted on entering (the bar) for a drink," said the prosecution.
Lim then ordered two glasses of gin and tonic, and they chatted for a while. When Lim left for the washroom, the victim lost consciousness.
When she regained consciousness, she was sitting on a ledge outside the Singapore Land Tower with her upper body slumped over Lim's lap, and Lim was molesting and sexually assaulting her.
She "felt extreme pain and discomfort," said the prosecution.
"The victim slapped the accused’s hand aside repeatedly and told the accused to stop but the accused persisted."
As she was drifting in and out of consciousness, the victim could not recall how the assault came to an end.
Her next memory was of herself in the backseat of a private-hire car, the prosecution said, where Lim was sexually assaulting her again.
Using whatever energy she had, she told Lim to stop and pushed his hand away. Despite that, Lim told her "no" and continued doing so.
The next morning, on April 13, 2019, Lim texted the victim multiple times and apologised for going "overboard".
In response, the victim replied that it was inappropriate that Lim had taken advantage of her, especially since he was a friend of the victim's father.
She blocked him after he apologised again and asked if he could do anything "to make this situation better".
The court heard that the victim made a police report against Lim on July 14, 2019. This was a day after her father found out about the sexual assault from her and told her to make a report.
TOOK ADVANTAGE OF THE VICTIM
Deputy Public Prosecutors (DPPs) Sheldon Lim and Ashley Poh called for a total sentence of between nine and 10 years' jail as well as 10 to 11 strokes of the cane.ADVERTISEMENT
They said Lim had taken advantage of the victim's weakened state and "opportunistically sexually assaulted the victim as she drifted in and out of consciousness".
"In the victim’s testimony in court, she also shared that she was aware that she was being sexually assaulted in a public place at Singapore Land Tower and in the Grab (private-hire) car, and felt humiliated, scared and frightened," said the prosecutors.
"Any sentence handed down by this court must reflect society's abhorrence of the accused’s conduct, and serve as adequate retribution for his transgressions."
They added that the sentence should send "a clear signal to like-minded offenders of the court's unequivocal denunciation of this sort of predatory behaviour".
For sexually penetration without consent, Lim could have been jailed for up to 20 years, and fined or caned.
For using criminal force to outrage the modesty of someone, Lim could have been jailed for up to two years, fined, caned or with any combination of the three.
