Man withdraws guilty plea in rape case - Guess the race?

LAST year, a 39-year-old man pleaded guilty in the High Court to raping his intellectually disabled half-sister, who was 18 years younger than him.

But in a twist yesterday, instead of making a mitigation plea as expected, his lawyer told the court that his client wanted to withdraw his guilty plea.

In July, the man had pleaded guilty to rape, sodomy and owning obscene films. He now maintains that he was innocent and that he had earlier admitted to the charges to "save his wife".

The man, through his lawyer, Mr S. K. Kumar, claimed that his wife had given a false statement to the police but she would have told the truth if she had testified in court during his trial.

He said he had admitted to the charges then as he was worried that his wife would get into trouble over her differing accounts. When an accused pleads guilty, no witnesses are required to testify in court.

He also claimed he was innocent, as he suffers from erectile dysfunction, especially when he is drunk, and that he would not have had sex with the alleged victim as she is his sister.

Justice Chan Seng Onn proceeded to reject his guilty plea, rescind his conviction and send the case for a pre-trial conference.

Nobody involved in the case can be named to avoid identifying the alleged victim, who was 18 years old at the time.

Yesterday, the man looked agitated when he spoke to his lawyer. Mr Kumar told the court that his client had concerns about his family's safety.

When Justice Chan asked who was going after them, Mr Kumar said it was the alleged victim and her friends.

The punishment for rape and sodomy is up to 20 years in jail and either a caning or a fine.

Source: Straits Times © Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. Permission required for reproduction.

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KNNBCCB said:

is the color dark ?

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KNNBCCB said:

is the color dark ?

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