Man, 22, raped poly student on first meet-up after connecting via dating app; gets jail, cane

SINGAPORE — After meeting a 17-year-old polytechnic student through a dating mobile application, Johnson Hong Siang Yeu invited her to his home for a guitar lesson before raping her in his bedroom.

She initially did not want to make a police report out of fear of reprisal from her parents, but changed her mind upon her friend’s persuasion.

On Tuesday (April 19), Hong, now aged 22, was sentenced to seven years’ jail and four strokes of the cane after pleading guilty to rape.

He was also fined S$2,000 for breaching Covid-19 rules by leaving his home to meet the victim without a reasonable excuse. This was during the circuit breaker period in 2020 when movements and activities were restricted to curb the pandemic.

Another charge of sexual assault by penetration was taken into consideration for sentencing.

His victim, now aged 19, cannot be named due to a court order to protect her identity. Hong's occupation was not stated in court papers.

The court heard that they got to know each other through the dating app OkCupid around end-April 2020.

She told Hong from the start that she was not looking to date anyone she met on the app. When he acknowledged this, they soon “built a rapport” and started chatting with each other on a daily basis, prosecutors told the court.

Over the next two weeks, she grew to regard him as a trusted friend, confiding in him her past relationship experiences, family troubles and personal struggles.

He often comforted her in return, telling her over text messages that she was just like a little sister to him.

WHAT HAPPENED

On the evening of May 9, 2020, he invited her to his flat in Woodlands to teach her how to play the guitar. It was the first time they had met.

She agreed to meet him at a staircase landing outside the flat in order to “keep things friendly” between them and she got there past midnight.

About an hour later, Hong suggested moving to his bedroom where there was air-conditioning. Feeling sweaty, she agreed and sat at the corner of his mattress to use her mobile phone while he used his laptop.

At some point, he offered to give her a back massage, which lasted for a few minutes. She then fell asleep afterwards.

The sight of her asleep aroused Hong and he proceeded to hug her from the back, before molesting her. She woke up in a jolt and immediately told him to stop while shoving his hand away.

Undeterred, Hong sexually assaulted her and then raped her without putting on a condom. She struggled to push him off her, crying and pleading with him to stop.

He stopped after a few minutes and apologised. She continued crying and eventually left the room to use the toilet, before leaving his flat around 4.15am in a private-hire vehicle.

Hong apologised to her over the messaging platform Telegram at around 5am, saying: “Hope we can keep this between ourselves and forget about this.”

The victim told a friend about the rape but was hesitant to file a police report. She eventually did so two days later.

ABUSE OF TRUST

Deputy Public Prosecutors Yeow Xuan and Nicholas Lim sought the sentence imposed for the rape offence, and a fine of at least S$3,500 for Hong’s Covid-19 regulation breach.

They raised aggravating factors that included Hong abusing the victim’s trust and faith in him.

DPP Yeow added: “The victim had, on multiple occasions, laid down clear boundaries between herself and the accused. She placed significant trust in the accused’s assurances that they were just friends and was willing to follow him to his home on the night of the offences despite her clear reservations.

“In turn, he utterly betrayed the faith reposed in him by making advances on her while she was asleep and subsequently sexually penetrating her.”

Hong’s defence counsel, Mr Joshua Tong from Kalco Law, asked for a lighter sentence of six years’ jail and three strokes of the cane.

Mr Tong disagreed that the victim had delineated clear boundaries, arguing that their relationship was a short one of two weeks. It was an overstatement to say they were even friends, he added.

“While the crime was serious, this was a momentary lapse and a moment of folly,” Mr Tong added.

In sentencing Hong, District Judge Kok Shu En agreed with the prosecution that Hong had abused the victim’s trust. Nevertheless, she acknowledged his plea of guilt and his relatively young age.

Hong’s jail sentence was backdated to when he was first remanded on Nov 24 last year.

For committing rape, he could have been jailed for up to 20 years, as well as fined or caned.

For breaking Covid-19 laws, he could have been jailed for up to six months or fined up to S$10,000, or punished with both.