Recalcitrant offender assaults woman over payment for sexual services, robs another at knifepoint

SINGAPORE — Barely half a year after serving a second stint of corrective training, Muhammad Rozaimie Zainal went back to his old ways.

When a woman he met at Orchard Towers wanted him to pay up before having sex with him, he tried to prevent her from leaving their hotel room. He then assaulted her before she managed to get away.

Three months later, he robbed another woman of about S$1,000 in Tanjong Pagar. He has not made any restitution.

On Tuesday (July 9), Rozaimie, 41, pleaded guilty to one count of causing hurt and one count of robbery.

Another two charges of wrongful confinement and pretending to be a police officer will be taken into consideration during sentencing on July 30, as District Judge Jasvender Kaur called for reports to assess if he is suitable for corrective training or preventive detention.

Corrective training is a harsher form of imprisonment, as the offender is unlikely to be given early release based on factors such as good behaviour.

Preventive detention, which ranges from seven to 20 years, is only imposed on recalcitrant offenders who the court believes should be locked away to protect the public from them.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Vincent Ong told the court that Rozaimie has a long criminal history dating back to 1993, which shows “his recalcitrant nature and his resistance to reformation”.

He was once convicted in 1995 of robbery with hurt and underwent reformative training — a regimented rehabilitation programme for offenders under the age of 21 who commit relatively serious crimes. In 2000, he was jailed and caned for vandalism and drugs offences.

In 2003, he was sentenced to six years’ corrective training for assorted offences, such as criminal intimidation and rash driving. His second stint of corrective training in 2010 lasted eight years, and he was also given 24 strokes of the cane, for robbery and causing grievous hurt to deter a public servant from his duty.

WHAT HAPPENED

For the latest cases, the court heard that Rozaimie met a Vietnamese woman on Sept 9, 2018 at Orchard Towers.

The woman, then 32, agreed to have sex with him if he paid her S$100.

While in a room at New Orchid Hotel in Balestier, they started arguing because Rozaimie wanted to pay only after sex.

Court documents stated that he showed her a police case card, and declared that he would arrest and repatriate her if she did not have sex with him.

She then turned to leave, but he grabbed her hand and blocked the door. He also punched her several times in the head and scratched her on the face, neck and chest when she tried to push him away.

She eventually managed to get out of the room, and reported the incident at Orchard Neighbourhood Police Centre.

On the evening of Dec 17, 2018, Rozaimie struck again.

He was working as a cleaner at the UIC Building along Shenton Way then.

A woman, then 30, was walking to Tanjong Pagar MRT Station when she decided to play a piano located near the entrance of the URA Building.

At about 11pm, Rozaimie spotted her and threatened her with a knife that he had taken from his workplace. He had hidden it in his bag, intending to rob people to get money for his expenses.

She told him she had just S$52 in her wallet, so he demanded that she withdraw more cash from an automated teller machine (ATM) for him.

She withdrew another S$1,000 from an ATM at Tanjong Pagar MRT Station, which Rozaimie took before fleeing.

He returned to his workplace and hid the knife and bag in his locker.

The victim reported the incident to staff members at the control station, who called the police.

Rozaimie was arrested at Lucky Plaza shopping centre on Orchard Road two days later.

He claimed to have spent the money on food, drinks and transport, and remitted some of it to the Philippines.

For causing hurt, Rozaimie could be jailed up to two years and fined up to S$5,000.

For committing robbery after 7pm and before 7am, he could be jailed at least three years and given at least 12 strokes of the cane.