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Man gets jail, cane for robbery and sexual assault

SINGAPORE — A 39-year-old man who not only robbed a freelance masseuse but also sexually assaulted her was sentenced to 11 years’ jail and the maximum 24 strokes of the cane on Thursday (Oct 6).

SINGAPORE — A 39-year-old man who not only robbed a freelance masseuse but also sexually assaulted her was sentenced to 11 years’ jail and the maximum 24 strokes of the cane on Thursday (Oct 6).

Raymond Lim Ling Soon, who was working as a facilities maintenance supervisor at the time of incident, had pleaded guilty to one charge of robbery and one charge of aggravated sexual assault. Another two charges were taken into consideration during sentencing.

The district court heard that about 7.30pm on Jan 19, Lim who went to the 24-year-old victim’s flat, taking a penknife along with him as he wanted to rob her. The victim cannot be named to protect her identity.

Once she closed her room door, Lim immediately took out the penknife and placed it on her neck and shouted “robbery” in Mandarin.

He told her to strip herself naked and lie down on the bed. The victim, shocked and fearful, did what she was told to, as Lim rummaged through her belongings and stole S$400 cash from her bedside drawers.

When he saw her naked, Lim became sexually aroused and started to sexually assault her. The victim did not retaliate or scream as she was afraid that Lim would harm her.

The sexual assault lasted for about an hour. Lim then told the victim, who was still naked, to squat down at the main door of the flat, close her eyes and count to 20.

Lim warned her that if she called the police, he would beat her up and kick her private parts until she could not get pregnant.

However, after Lim left her flat, the victim immediately called the police.

In urging the court to impose a sentence of at least 11 years’ jail and 24 strokes of the cane, Deputy Public Prosecutor Kavita Uthrapathy said the offences were premeditated and not done on the spur of the moment.

“The accused (Lim) already decided that he would rob the victim, knowing that she was going to be alone in the flat and had brought the knife with him for the purpose of robbing her.... (He) had placed the penknife close to the victim’s neck, a vulnerable part of the body,” she added.

Ms Kavita also noted that Lim had “subjected the victim to gross indignity and humiliation”.

For robbery committed after 7pm and before 7am, Lim could have been sentenced to at least three years’ jail and at least 12 strokes of the cane. For aggravated sexual assault, Lim could have been sentenced to at least eight years’ jail and at least 12 strokes of the cane.

 

Correction: An earlier version of this report wrongly referred to Raymond Lim's surname as Lee in one paragraph. We are sorry for the error.

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