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Man gets 11 years, 9 strokes for raping tourist

SINGAPORE – A construction supervisor was sentenced to 11 years’ jail and nine strokes of the cane for raping a Chinese tourist, who was staying in another room in the same building in Geylang.

SINGAPORE – A construction supervisor was sentenced to 11 years’ jail and nine strokes of the cane for raping a Chinese tourist, who was staying in another room in the same building in Geylang.

Hossain Anowar, a 32-year-old Bangladeshi national, decided to plead guilty to one charge of rape on the second day of his trial earlier this month. Another count of rape was taken into consideration for sentencing.

The victim, who was then 44, arrived in Singapore from China in February last year to visit her husband, who was working here. Her husband had rented a room in Lorong 8, Geylang, for them to stay.

In the early afternoon of Feb 29 that year, Hossain, who was living in another room there, knocked on the victim’s door and gestured at her with a toothbrush.

Taking it to mean that he wanted to borrow some toothpaste, she went to the toilet. But while she was in there, he locked the door and raped her.

When he unlocked the door, the victim tried to flee but he pulled her into her own room and raped her again. He left the building after that.

During the hearing yesterday, Hossain’s lawyer, Mr Pradeep Pillai said his client “never planned to carry out the rape of the victim” but was “aroused by the victim’s attire”.

While Mr Pillai said a woman’s attire “cannot in any way be an excuse for rape”, he noted that the victim was “wearing heels, a tight pair of denim shorts and a top without a bra”.

However, his argument was shot down by Deputy Public Prosecutor Kavita Uthrapathy, who said that it was not right to tender such a victim-blaming statement.

By highlighting her attire in such a way, the prosecutor said the inference to be drawn was that the victim had dressed provocatively. The woman was in her sleep attire that she wore at home, she added.

Urging the court to impose a sentence of at least 12 years’ jail and nine strokes of the cane, DPP Uthrapathy said Hossain had preyed on the victim in her place of residence.

“The accused had further exploited the victim’s generosity and neighbourliness, and attacked her after she tried to offer assistance to the accused.”

He also caused severe harm, with the victim becoming withdrawn and distrustful of people, unlike her previous bubbly and outgoing self, the DPP added.

In her victim impact statement, the woman said she constantly had nightmares after the incident, and it worsened her anxiety depression disorder. Her relationship with her husband was also affected, where she felt that her husband “despises” her after the incident. “I went back to China after what happened and I realised I was unable to live normally like I used to be … I feel insecure and I even (installed) a CCTV at my home,” she said in the statement.

In meting out the sentence, the High Court judge said that she took into account that there was a second incident after the first rape, and that Hossain had pleaded guilty only after the victim went through an examination and cross-examination in court by both parties.

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