Man accused of raping maid twice in one morning
He is accused of raping his maid twice in one morning.
On the first day of his trial yesterday, the court heard that an alcohol distributor, now 45, allegedly raped the Myanmar national once at around 1am and again about six hours later in his Pasir Ris flat on Dec 20, 2013.
According to his police statement, the Malaysian did not deny having sex with the now 38-year-old woman. Yesterday, investigation officer Assistant Superintendent David Ang told Justice Chan Seng Onn that the accused had instead claimed the sex was consensual on both occasions.
Now divorced, the Singapore permanent resident was a married man when he allegedly committed the offences. The trial is expected to go on for seven days and the prosecution will be calling 10 witnesses in all.
In his opening address, Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Kumaresan Gohulabalan said that the maid was alone in the flat and was asleep when the accused returned in the wee hours of Dec 20.
He allegedly restrained, molested and raped her despite her desperate pleas for him to stop.
Testifying yesterday, one of the woman's male friends, who is working in Singapore, said that she tried to phone him twice on Dec 20, 2013, after each alleged act of rape.
The man, who is also a Myanmar national and cannot be named to protect her identity, said that she called once at around 2am, but he was asleep. She called again at around 9am, but he did not answer as he was at work.
The man said that the maid, who is married with three children in Myanmar, was in tears when he returned her calls about an hour later.
She told him: "I've spoilt my life already. My life has been destroyed. Please help me."
He added that when he asked her what happened, she replied: "My male employer", before she resumed sobbing.
The woman did not specifically say that she had been sexually assaulted.
However, the man told the court that from what she had said, he understood that she was raped and later told her to call the police.
Staff Sergeant (Sgt) Wee Xue Ting testified yesterday that she arrived at the flat at 11.38am on Dec 20 following the maid's call.
She added: "She was calm and showed no signs that she was afraid or anything. She was very soft spoken. She was not crying and could understand very simple English."
Staff Sgt Wee and a colleague accompanied her to the void deck.
The accused arrived at the scene soon after and identified himself as the husband of the maid's employer.
He then spoke to her in a soft voice as she sat on a stone stool.
Staff Sgt Wee testified that he said: "Please, I'm sorry" to the maid at least twice.
They then went to a parapet near a staircase landing and he was seen squatting in front of her.
According to Staff Sgt Wee, he said: "I'm sorry. Please don't do this to me."
When Mr Sudheesan asked Staff Sgt Wee what the maid did next, she said that she could not remember if the Myanmar national made a verbal response.
However, she recalled that the maid turned her body away after the accused uttered those words. The accused is now out on a bail of $70,000 and the maid is expected to take the stand when the trial resumes today.
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