SINGAPORE — After spotting a woman changing in her bedroom from his workplace next door, a 21-year-old cleaner hatched a plan to break into her home to steal money.

After breaking in, he decided to rape her, but she woke up and struggled with him. He fled, leaving his pants and underwear at her doorway.

On Monday (Sept 16), Andrew Kumaravel, now 23, was sentenced to 9.5 years' jail and six strokes of the cane. He pleaded guilty to a charge each of attempted rape, housebreaking to commit an offence, and voyeurism.

Another four charges were taken into consideration during sentencing: Voluntarily causing hurt, being armed with an instrument for cutting, possessing obscene films, and another charge of voyeurism.

His victims cannot be named due to a court order.

Court documents showed that Kumaravel, a Malaysian, was drinking beer and watching pornographic films on his mobile phone in a storeroom at his workplace on April 15 in 2022 past midnight.

His workplace was in an industrial building beside the victim's two-storey home. The two premises were separated by fences.

Kumaravel tried to masturbate but was unable to, so he stepped out of the storeroom to smoke at a nearby staircase.

Sometime past 1am, he spotted the victim changing in her bedroom.

About an hour later, he decided to break into the victim's home to steal money.

Despite having to climb over a barbed wire fence and cutting his hands in the process, Kumaravel was not deterred and entered the woman's home through an unlocked window.

He searched the first floor of the house for money. Before heading to the second floor, he removed his shoes.

He then opened the door to the victim's bedroom and entered it, finding her sleeping.

Kumaravel then decided to rape the victim, so he removed his shorts and underwear.

He placed his clothes at the doorway of the bedroom, alongside his personal belongings — namely a mask, a lighter, a pair of scissors and a pair of earphones.

ATTEMPTED RAPE

Kumaravel then climbed onto the bed, crouched on top of the victim and restrained her legs. This woke up the victim, who shouted and struggled with him.

During the scuffle, Kumaravel began choking the victim by pinching her neck before trying to remove her shorts and underwear.

The victim continued to struggle, managing to grab his neck. She then bit his right arm.

The noise from the struggle woke up the victim's mother, who then "shouted about why there was so much noise", court documents stated.

Fearing that he would be caught, Kumaravel ran out of the victim's bedroom without his shorts and underwear. It is not known if he retrieved his other personal belongings.

He left the house and returned to his workplace's storeroom. Later, he disposed of the shirt he was wearing to avoid detection.

The police received a call from the victim and tracked down Kumaravel through fingerprint analysis. He was arrested at about 11.40am the same day.

This crime was committed while Kumaravel was on bail for voyeurism, where he had filmed his 44-year-old Malaysian housemate while she was showering in March 2022.

He also filmed a male housemate, whose age was not disclosed in court documents, showering. This was part of the voyeurism charge taken into consideration during sentencing.

Kumaravel did this by placing his mobile phone on a pipe in the toilet, with the camera facing the shower area.

Deputy Public Prosecutors Claire Poh and Gabriel Gan sought a sentence of at least 10 years' and seven months' jail, and nine strokes of the cane.

They said that he had "progressed from filming his housemates in the shared toilet to breaking into a house of a stranger and attempting to rape her in the middle of the night".

"The accused’s behaviour is a threat to the psychological safety of all who would believe that their own homes are safe places for rest and repose," the prosecution said.

Kumaravel was represented by Mr Pramnath Vijayakumar and Ms Tan Su from Pro Bono SG, which provides free legal services for the underprivileged.

For attempted rape, Kumaravel could have been jailed up to 20 years and fined or caned.

For housebreaking, he could have been jail for up to 10 years and fined.

The offence of voyeurism carries a jail term of up to two years, a fine, caning, or any combination of such punishments.