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Man jailed for choking woman, pulling out her hair as he sexually assaulted her in HDB lift

SINGAPORE — Spotting a woman who appeared drunk heading into a lift at a Housing and Development Board (HDB) block of flats, Mohammad Fadli Othman followed her and decided he wanted to have sex with her.

Mohammad Fadli Othman, 35, followed a woman who appeared to be intoxicated and then sexually assaulted her in a lift.

Mohammad Fadli Othman, 35, followed a woman who appeared to be intoxicated and then sexually assaulted her in a lift.

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SINGAPORE — Spotting a woman who appeared drunk heading into a lift at a Housing and Development Board (HDB) block of flats, Mohammad Fadli Othman followed her and decided he wanted to have sex with her.

Over the course of seven minutes, he groped her private parts, pulled her hair so forcefully that hair was torn from her scalp, choked her and forced her to perform a sex act on him.

When she tried to escape after the lift doors opened, he grabbed her shoulders and blocked her path.

In the High Court on Tuesday (March 24), Fadli, 35, was sentenced to 11-and-a-half years’ jail and 12 strokes of the cane. He pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated sexual assault by penetration. 

His 32-year-old victim, who is from China, cannot be named due to a court order to protect her identity. She had arrived in Singapore five days before the assault, which happened on April 20 last year.

As a result of the attack, she was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and has suffered from insomnia, hyper-vigilance and recurrent nightmares, a psychiatrist’s report stated. 

The court heard that at about 3.20am that day, her friend gave her a lift home after they met at a coffee shop in Jalan Besar.

Fadli was loitering around the North Bridge Road area at that time.

When he saw some other girls walking around, he developed a “sudden urge” to have sex with them but did nothing, prosecutors told the court.

After he sat down on a bench, he saw the victim walk past on her own. Finding her attractive, he decided to target her, thinking that she would not be able to identify him as she appeared to be intoxicated.

CLUMPS OF HAIR AT LIFT LOBBY

Fadli checked that the coast was clear before following her into the lift. When the lift doors closed, he grabbed her private parts and touched her breasts.

She struggled and begged him to let go but could not overpower him. 

When the lift doors opened at the sixth floor, she tried to crawl out but he hit her on the back and head to stop her from struggling. 

She managed to get to the lift lobby but Fadli forcibly restrained her by choking her and pulling her hair. Police officers later found clumps of hair there.

He then exposed himself to her and tried to get her to perform oral sex on him. She resisted and continued to struggle to escape, but was repeatedly choked and shoved around by Fadli. 

After he forced her to perform a sex act on him, he put his finger to his lips indicating that she should stay silent about the assault. 

His actions in the lift were captured on closed-circuit television footage.

The victim called her friend who took her to the police station to file a report. Fadli was arrested at 9.30pm that day and has been in remand since.

Related topics

sexual assault court crime lift HDB molest

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