Trial for raping half-sister: Brother framed me over money

SINGAPORE - My brother framed me over money.

That was what a 39-year-old former car grooming coordinator told the court on Wednesday.

He faces six charges, including allegedly raping and sodomising his half-sister, who has a low IQ. These attacks were said to have happened over two nights from March 12, 2010, to the morning of March 14, 2010.

No one involved in this case can be named because of a gag order.

"Your Honour, I'm not guilty. I've been framed for property, Your Honour. Please help me. Please help my family," said the man.

The same allegation that he was framed came up when the man's wife took the stand during the first tranche of the trial in May.

He also gave other reasons why he is innocent. 

He said he had a lot of beer that night, which would have knocked him out. 

Therefore, he said, I could not have raped my half-sister.

He then put forward another reason, saying he knew rape is wrong and there was no way he would do it, much less to his half-sister.

Choking up, he also told the court that he agreed to take his half-sister in for two days because she was causing problems between his brother and sister-in-law when the girl got an abortion in late 2009.

Wiping away tears, he said through an interpreter that on his mother's deathbed, she had told him to make sure his brother's marriage worked out, unlike her own marriage with their father.

"She asked me to do that, how can I not help them? But now I'm accused of rape, I don't understand."

Inaccurate statement

He also accused the police of getting his statement wrong.

In a statement given to the police shortly after his arrest in March 2010, he said his brother had brought the girl to his house on March 12 to stay for a few days.

That same day, she told him the other brother had made her pregnant, and the accused slapped her twice. The girl was slapped again the next day when she asked to go out.

On Wednesday, he denied this, saying the policeman recording his statement had got the facts wrong. "I told him different things, but he recorded different things... I only slapped (the girl) once," he said, adding that he had asked for an interpreter but was not given one.

"Last time I was arrested by CNB (Central Narcotics Bureau) I got an interpreter."

He blamed the recording officer for getting the dates wrong because "he told me the date, not the days" and that he had problems remembering dates because of treatment for his drug addiction.

He said repeatedly: "I'm a former jailbird, if I did something I know was wrong, I'll admit to it. But now, I'm not guilty, I didn't do it. I don't understand."

He also accused his half-sister's friends of threatening his wife and son.

"They did terrible things to my family," he said, but could not elaborate when asked for details.

And when Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Sellakumaran Sellamuthoo pressed him for answers, asking him to reply "yes" or "no", the accused lost his temper.

"Give me fair (sic), you can talk, I also can talk. Yes, no, yes, no, I'm not a parrot. Give me (a) chance to talk," he shouted more than once, flinging his hands about wildly.

He also accused the DPP of asking questions in circles, saying that he should ask "straightforward questions" instead.

Whenever he was questioned, the man would go on a tirade, insisting that he had repeated the answers many times.

At several points, he was told by the interpreter to stop and allow her to translate what was said before going on.

When asked why he did not confront his half-sister about the threats against his wife and son in court, the man said he was "informed by the judge to keep quiet".

"I respect the judge," he said. 

In response, Justice Tay Yong Kwang clarified that DPP Sellakumaran was asking why the man had not put in a question through his lawyer rather than confronting the girl directly.

Justice Tay added: "I want you to understand that I didn't shut you up. I just stopped you from shouting at the complainant (in court), calling her a liar."

About the case

THE 39-year-old former car grooming coordinator is accused of raping his half-sister, who has low IQ, between March 12 and March 14, 2010.

He faces six charges: two of rape, two of sexual assault and one each of sodomy and fellatio.

Their brother had taken the girl, who was 19 then, to stay at the alleged rapist's one-room flat because she was causing problems at home.

Over the next two nights, he allegedly raped the girl at least twice and also allegedly sodomised her.

He is even said to have made his wife, who also has low intelligence, take part in some of the attacks.

The girl managed to leave their flat on March 14 and met up with some neighbours. Not knowing what to do, they took her back to her brother's house, where she ran off again.

On March 15, the girl met her mother's boyfriend and told him about the attacks. He was taking her back to his home to talk about it when the girl fainted and was taken to hospital.

It was at the National University Hospital where it was discovered she had been raped.