Jail, cane for rapist who posed as cop

This article is more than 12 months old

Jul 14, 2016 06:00 am

A former pizza deliveryman was sentenced to 12½ years' jail and 11 strokes of the cane yesterday for posing as a policeman and raping a 16-year-old girl he had "caught" having sex with her boyfriend in a HDB stairwell in Woodlands.

Muhammad Firman Jumali Chew, 30, interrupted the couple in October 2013 and told them he was a police officer. Preying on the couple's fear that he would report their actions to their parents and school, Firman lured the girl away from her boyfriend and took her to a nearby block, where he raped her.

Firman was convicted of three charges; one each for rape, sexual assault and impersonating a police officer.

During the trial, Firman claimed that the girl had led him up the stairs at Block 359, pulled down his zipper and sexually violated him.

He also falsely accused Mr Tung Shue Kiong, a technician who had helped the young couple that day, of being a "pervert" who spied on unsuspecting couples.

Judicial Commissioner Hoo Sheau Peng said Firman's account was "completely unbelievable, incredible and inconsistent".