He rapes, robs, then says thank you

TNP PHOTO ILLUSTRATION: Benjamin Seetor

After raping a terrified woman, Sivakumar Magendran, 23, a part-time cleaner, took her handbag, thanked her and fled.

Calling it a "despicable sexual offence", Justice Chan Seng Onn sentenced Sivakumar to 13 years' imprisonment and ordered him to be caned 24 strokes.

Investigations revealed that before he committed the act last May, in the landing of an HDB block in central Singapore, Sivakumar told his 23-year-old victim: "Girl, you very beautiful."