Serial rapist gets jail again

SINGAPORE - A 43-year-old man, who has already spent nearly half his life behind bars, tried to force himself on a woman just eight months after his release from prison.

"A serial rapist, that's what you are," said Justice Chan Seng Onn yesterday as he sentenced Razali Osman to 20 years' jail and 24 strokes of the cane.

In 1993, aged 23, he was sentenced to 28 years' jail and 24 strokes of the cane for raping three women, including his girlfriend's sister, and robbing two of them. He was released in February 2012.

The delivery assistant and part-time cleaner pleaded guilty in October last year to one charge each of sexual assault, attempted aggravated rape and housebreaking.

After Razali's release from prison, his sister took him in. A month later, the latest victim, a 31-year-old foreigner working here as an administrator, moved into their flat.

Razali expressed his interest in her, but she turned him down, saying she had a fiance back in the Philippines.

One night in October 2012, he climbed out the living-room window of the fifth-floor flat and into the window of her bedroom, whose door was locked. Once inside, he covered her mouth and pinned her onto the bed. As they struggled, he violated her sexually and tried to rape her but eventually stopped.

He told her that he was frustrated after she spurned his affections, and apologised. He even provided his name and contact details and accompanied her downstairs, where she took a taxi to her friend's place. The woman made a police report and moved out.

Yesterday, Deputy Public Prosecutor Christine Liu said that the woman became wary of men as a result of the attack, leading to her breaking off her engagement a few months ago.

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This article by The Straits Times was published in MyPaper,  a free, bilingual newspaper published by Singapore Press Holdings.