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Man on trial for abducting, raping unconscious woman

SINGAPORE — He was a familiar face at the restaurant where she was interning, and they got to know each other well enough for her to go clubbing with him.

SINGAPORE — He was a familiar face at the restaurant where she was interning, and they got to know each other well enough for her to go clubbing with him.

But during a night out at Zouk, she had too much to drink and was taken to his home, where Ong Soon Heng, now 40, allegedly raped the woman who was 15 years younger than him.

The incident came to light after her boyfriend used the Find my iPhone app to locate the woman.

Details of the 2014 incident were revealed at the start of an abduction-and-rape trial in the High Court on Thursday (March 30). The woman, now 25, cannot be named due to a court order.

The court heard that in the wee hours of July 24 that year, the woman, together with Ong and a few friends, went to popular nightclub Zouk, which was then located at 17 Jiak Kim Street.

After the woman became drunk and unconscious, Ong, a bunker surveyor, carried her to the backseat of his car, which was captured by a closed-circuit television (CCTV) camera.

Both of them left Zouk at 4.04am, with Ong taking the victim back to his apartment at Hume Heights.

At 6.30am, the woman’s boyfriend — who had traced her whereabouts via the phone app — discovered her “lying in a stupor” next to Ong in his apartment, wearing boxer shorts and a T-shirt that were not hers.

Ong, however, denied that he had done anything to her.

Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Sellakumaran Sellamuthoo noted that a medical examination that took place six hours later showed that the woman’s blood alcohol concentration was 62mg per 100ml of blood.

A medical report by a senior consultant psychiatrist said the woman’s blood alcohol concentration during the alleged rape was in the range of 210mg to 250mg per 100ml of blood.

The court heard that the woman became acquainted with Ong, a divorcee, during her internship at a diner. Ong, who is friends with the diner’s owners, visited the place occasionally.

Although he knew that the woman had a boyfriend, Ong continued to make advances towards her. She tojust lerated his actions to avoid jeopardising her internship, which she regarded as crucial for her career prospects, said DPP Sellamuthoo.

A female friend of the woman told the court that while the latter and Ong were “good friends”, they were not having a romantic relationship.

The friend, who cannot be named, said the woman and Ong had kissed in the nightclub that evening.

When asked about the kiss by 
DPP Sellamuthoo, the friend attributed it to the fact that the woman “was under the influence of alcohol”.

However, during a cross-examination by Ong’s defence lawyer, the friend admitted to seeing Ong and the woman kissing several times in the club, and said that she did not know for sure whether the woman had resisted Ong’s actions. The trial continues on Friday.

If convicted of rape, Ong could be jailed for up to 20 years and caned. For abduction, he could receive up to seven years’ jail and fined.

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