Young rapist gets 13 years' jail after flip-flop over guilty plea

Young rapist gets 13 years' jail after flip-flop over guilty plea

A YOUTH who tricked a teenager into going to his home, refused to let her leave and raped her after using various forms of coercion, was yesterday sentenced to 13 years' jail and 12 strokes of the cane.

It was the second time that the 21-year-old had pleaded guilty to the same set of charges.

He was 20 when he first admitted his guilt last September. But on Oct 17 - the day he was scheduled to be sentenced and three days after he turned 21 - he withdrew his plea.

In flip-flopping, he gave up the chance to be given the comparatively lighter punishment of reformative training, a regime that can last between 18 months and three years for offenders below 21 at the time of conviction.

His lawyer Anand Nalachandran had earlier asked for a sentence of reformative training.

A subsequent report found that the youth was fit to undergo the regime, although the court is not legally bound to adopt the recommendations in passing sentence.

Yesterday, the youth changed his mind again and went back to his original decision to plead guilty to aggravated rape, wrongful confinement, criminal intimidation and causing hurt to the girl, who was 13 at the time.

But he was no longer eligible for reformative training.

He also pleaded guilty to another three charges of having sex with a minor, involving three other girls.

These girls, aged between 13 and 14 at the time, were in romantic relationships with him. The offences took place between October 2012 and December 2013.

The youth, while absent without leave from full-time national service, first met the rape victim some time in May 2013 while hanging out with other friends.

They shared a taxi home the next morning. During the journey, he got her to go to his flat after cooking up a story about wanting to pass money to a mutual friend through her.

No one was home when they reached his flat after 9am. The youth locked the door and told her to sit on the bed in the living room.

He asked if she would have sex with him for money, but she rebuffed him even after he offered her more money.

He tried a few times to push her down on the bed, and tried to tape her mouth unsuccessfully. He also covered her face with a blanket and punched her head.

He then got a knife with a 16cm blade and threatened to hurt her, but she still refused to comply. Eventually, the teenager relented as she saw no choice but to have sex with him so that she could go home.

After the rape, the girl seized the chance to escape when his mother returned home. Her mother later accompanied her to make a police report.

selinal@sph.com.sg


This article was first published on March 07, 2015.
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