Trespasser brought bag of sex toys to MBS with intention to rape
It was meant to be a romantic Christmas break for a Singaporean woman and her boyfriend at Marina Bay Sands (MBS) hotel.
But romance turned to horror when a trespasser tailed her, barged into her room, pushed her towards the bed and tried to rape her.
The trespasser, former primary school teacher Zainal Ariffin Selamat, 38, was later found with a bag containing penis rings, condoms and a dildo.
The 28-year-old woman and her 29-year-old boyfriend cannot be named to protect her identity.
Zainal Ariffin, who has schizophrenia and is jobless, was given a two-year mandatory treatment order (MTO) yesterday after pleading guilty to one count of house-trespass.
An MTO is for offenders who suffer from psychiatric conditions. Those ordered to undergo MTO have to go for psychiatric treatment in lieu of jail time.
An MTO is capped at two years.
Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Chee Ee Ling said that the couple checked into MBS at about 3pm on Dec 25, last year.
The woman's boyfriend had gone to their 47th-storey room first.
She was still in the lobby with her luggage when Zainal Ariffin, who was then wandering around aimlessly, spotted her at about 3.15pm.
He tried to befriend the woman as he wanted to have sex with her.
He followed her into a lift and to her room.
In the lift she asked him where he was going. He replied that he was heading to the same floor.
The woman had just opened the door to her room when he suddenly rushed towards her and pushed her inside, towards the bed.
SCREAMED
She screamed for her boyfriend, who was in the bathroom.
Zainal Ariffin tried to flee but the boyfriend caught him. Hotel security was notified and the police were alerted.
DPP Chee said: "After the police arrived, (he) admitted that he intended to have sex with (the woman) and would have persisted even if (she) was unwilling."
In their written mitigation, Zainal Ariffin's lawyers, Mr Abdul Salim A. Ibrahim and Ms Janessa Goh, said their client was diagnosed with schizophrenia in March last year.
They added that he had a relapse when he committed the offence, which caused him to have poor impulse control and impaired judgment.
For house-trespass, he could have been jailed up to two years and fined.
It's one-off incident, says MBS
Marina Bay Sands (MBS) said that the incident, which took place on Christmas Day last year, was a one-off incident.
Responding to queries from The New Paper on what it would do to prevent a similar incident, the hotel said it has a robust security management system in place.
Its well-trained pool of security officers, said an MBS spokesman, undergo continuous structured training to maintain high levels of competency.
"These security standards comply with the Singapore Standard for Hotel Security... Marina Bay Sands' security personnel rendered immediate assistance to the guests and assisted the police in its investigations."
NOT THE FIRST
This incident was not the first one in Singapore where a trespasser targeted hotel guests.
On April 8, 2003, a Malaysian man followed two air stewardesses to their hotel room at Grand Hyatt Singapore and sexually assaulted them.
Suresh Nair Vellayutham, then 28 and unemployed, raped one woman twice. She was then 31 and married. Her colleague, who was 30 years old at the time, was repeatedly molested.
He was jailed for 26 years and caned the maximum 24 strokes on Nov 28, 2003.
Following this, the two victims sought $1.15m in damages from the hotel. It was later settled out of court. The terms of the settlement cannot be disclosed.
Lawyers told TNP that MBS was responsible for the victim's security and she has the option of legal action.
Mr Louis Joseph from Regent Law, who was not involved in the cases, said hotels are responsible for the security of their guests.
"Hotels owe their guests a duty of care, which if breached, could lead to payment of damages."
MTOs are rare, say lawyers
Trespasser Zainal Ariffin Selamat, 38, was given a two-year mandatory treatment order (MTO) yesterday. Lawyers told The New Paper that MTOs are rarely given.
Mr Rajan Supramaniam from Hilborne Law said that only about three of his clients were given an MTO since it was first rolled out in 2010.
He said that an MTO is given to convicts who are suffering from mental conditions so that they can be treated and rehabilitated.
The former prisons officer said: "Imprisonment isn't always the solution. Some people need to be treated because they are mentally unwell."
Another lawyer, Mr Louis Joseph, said that after a judge calls for an MTO report, the accused person will be accessed at the Institute of Mental Health to see if the offence he committed is linked to his mental condition. A report will then be submitted on whether an MTO is recommended.
Get The New Paper on your phone with the free TNP app. Download from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store now
