Woman molested by colleague at his home after supper, man sentenced to jail and caning
SINGAPORE: A man molested his colleague when she went to his house to use the toilet, after handing her a coconut drink that she suspected was spiked.The 41-year-old man, who cannot be named to protect the victim's identity, was sentenced to 15 months' jail and three strokes of the cane on Friday (Aug 4).
He pleaded guilty to one charge of using criminal force on the victim to outrage her modesty.
The court heard that the man was 36 at the time of the offence in 2018, and the woman is three years his junior.
They were colleagues who had become friends and had known each other for at least four years before the incident.
On Oct 28, 2018, the man asked to meet the victim, and she agreed as she was nearby.
They had food and drink at a coffee shop near the man's home at about 11pm. At around midnight, the woman had a stomach ache and told the accused she needed the toilet.
The man invited her to his house to use the toilet, and she agreed as the coffee shop was closing.
The woman stayed in the toilet for some time and she apologised to the man via text for not being able to go.
In his text reply, he suggested that she drink some coconut juice. The woman exited the toilet and found the man in his room, where he handed her a cup of coconut juice.
The woman told the accused that the juice was bitter. The man put the cup to his lips and assured her that it was fine, so she finished it.
They continued to chat in the man's room and the woman began feeling sleepy. The man asked her to lie on his bed, but she declined. But she began to feel giddy and eventually lay down. The man joined her on his bed.
He hugged and kissed the woman before making sexual advances on her and molesting her. The woman felt weak and could not get off the bed, the prosecutor said.
The man then exposed himself and asked for a sex act, but the victim cried and rejected him.
She asked him why he was doing this when she had a boyfriend, and he was about to get married.
After vomiting several times, she eventually went home via a private-hire car.
The next morning, she confronted the accused in a series of text messages. When asked if he had drugged her and if they had intercourse, the man denied everything.
However, the woman remained suspicious that she had been drugged. This was ultimately not proven.
She sought medical attention at a hospital that same morning and the case was reported to the police.
Defence lawyer Patrick Nai from Tan Lee & Partners asked for between eight and 12 months' jail and not more than three strokes of the cane.
He said his client's early plea of guilt had saved the victim from the horror of having to relive the incident.
His client has since married and is the main breadwinner for his family.
MITIGATION
Mr Nai said the offender and the victim were good friends and colleagues, working as a team to meet potential clients.Even after the offender left his company in 2015, the victim would seek him out, asking him for advice on work.
"We are instructed that the accused and the victim were more than just platonic and casual friends," said the lawyer.
He said the pair were frequently in close contact between 2014 and 2018 and would share both personal and work problems with each other, chatting till late in the night and in the early hours of the morning.
Although they were in separate relationships at the time, the offender would offer his listening ear to the victim when she spoke about her relationship issues, said Mr Nai.
When the victim and offender began working together in the same company again in 2018, they continued their routine dinners and suppers, canvassing for sales together and chatting without their partners' knowledge.
Mr Nai said the incident in question took place in the same month that the victim told the offender she had broken up with her boyfriend.
He said his client was genuinely remorseful and had cooperated fully with the police. He also had no previous convictions.
For molestation, the offender could have been jailed for up to two years, fined, caned, or given any combination of these punishments.
