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Man, 26, on trial for allegedly raping drunk teenager at home, trying to rape woman in public toilet

SINGAPORE — A man accused of raping a teenage girl and attempting to rape a woman about a year before that went on trial in the High Court on Tuesday (Aug 17).

Wong Zhun Siong allegedly targeted a teenage girl and a woman after they spent the night drinking and he took photos of them.

Wong Zhun Siong allegedly targeted a teenage girl and a woman after they spent the night drinking and he took photos of them.

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  • Wong Zhun Siong faces one charge each of rape and attempted rape
  • He allegedly first tried to rape a woman in a public toilet and took photos of her
  • About a year later, he purportedly targeted a teenage girl and took her to his flat
  • Prosecutors said he must have known the alleged victims could not have consented owing to their intoxicated states

 

SINGAPORE — A man accused of raping a teenage girl and attempting to rape a woman about a year before that went on trial in the High Court on Tuesday (Aug 17).

Wong Zhun Siong, 26, allegedly committed the crimes in April 2018 and March 2019. 

The Singaporean is being held on remand.

Wong did not know the alleged victims, now aged 18 and 27, who cannot be named because of court orders to protect their identities.

Deputy Public Prosecutors (DPPs) Emily Koh and Eugene Lee said that they would present evidence from 32 witnesses to show that Wong had taken advantage of the alleged victims when they were drunk.

“(The alleged victims’) behaviour as observed by the accused in the moments leading up to the offences had clearly raised alarm bells in his mind,” the prosecutors noted.

“There were clear and obvious signs that (they) were so intoxicated that he must have known that they could not consent to any sexual activity with him.” 

In April 2018, he met the woman at the Zouk nightclub in Clarke Quay, where she had gone drinking with friends after leaving a bar in Robertson Quay.

The prosecutors said in their opening statement that she became very drunk and vomited in a toilet at the club before deciding to leave. 

The victim is set to testify that she then had no recollection of what happened.

In his statements to the police, Wong detailed how he had taken her to a toilet for people with disabilities, because he wanted to have sex with her.

The prosecutors said Wong admitted that he partially removed her clothes to have sex with her, but she was too drunk to stand straight.

Wong is also said to have taken photos of his attempt to have sex with the woman without her knowledge or consent.

When she regained consciousness, she found herself in a taxi with Wong without knowing how she ended up there, the prosecutors added. 

She panicked after realising that her mobile phone was not with her and took the taxi back to Zouk with Wong to look for it. She returned home in another taxi alone after retrieving it.

This incident came to light when the police investigated Wong for his later purported offence.

OBSERVED GIRL LOOKING TIRED, DRUNK 

As for the younger alleged victim, Wong and his friend Lee Yan Guang saw her standing alone near the Novotel Singapore Clarke Quay hotel in the wee hours of March 23, 2019. 

The two men had just gone to Zouk, while she had become intoxicated from drinking with colleagues and her boyfriend at a nearby dance club.

Her boyfriend had just left in a private-hire car and she was waiting for a private-hire car that she had booked to take her home.

Mr Lee approached her and tried to pick her up, but she did not respond.

He and Wong went to eat, then found her in the same area when they returned. 

This time, Wong took her to a Starbucks cafe to rest.

The prosecution said that she remembered vomiting and someone supporting her through this.

DPPs Koh and Lee said: “The evidence will show that the accused brought her out of Starbucks and escorted her to the taxi stand, offering to look after her if she came over to his place.”

He later took the girl to his flat in a taxi.

In his police statements, Wong said that he had observed the teenager looking tired and drunk. He also told the police that he had sex with her on his bed, took photos of her undressed and sent them to Mr Lee.

The prosecution said that they would present WhatsApp text messages between the two men to show that Wong knew she was drunk.

Later that morning, the girl woke up not knowing where she was. She borrowed S$14 from Wong to take a taxi home.

That afternoon, she made a police report. He was arrested at Tuas Checkpoint a few hours later.

The prosecutors said that an analyst from the Health Sciences Authority will testify that the condom that Wong used tested positive for semen and contained both his and the girl’s DNA. 

Footage from closed-circuit television cameras and police cameras at a lift at Wong’s home will also show that she was unsteady on her feet and staggered at times.

The trial is set to continue for the rest of the week. Lawyer Gregory Fong is representing Wong. 

Wong faces 10 other charges, which have been stood down for the time being. They include insulting the modesty of the alleged victims as well as other unrelated charges of stealing mobile phones and other items.

If convicted of rape, he could be jailed for up to 20 years and fined or caned. Attempted rape carries up to half of that punishment.

Related topics

court crime rape attempted rape drunk teenager

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