Straits Times, Singapore, 17 January 2006

Man jailed and caned for raping sis-in-law

A 35-YEAR-OLD man who raped his pre-teen sister-in-law just1½ years after he was married was sentenced to 20 years' jailand ordered to be given 18 strokes of the cane yesterday.

The unemployed father of two admitted to two counts of rapingthe girl when she was 11 in November 2002 and the following monthafter she had turned 12.

His dirty secret came out when his former wife caught them ina compromising position barely 10 days after their divorce in Maylast year.

She found them together near the kitchen cabinet of their homeon May 30 last year.

The victim had her track pants and panties around her kneeswhile the man was standing behind her and about to unzip hisbermudas.

The woman shouted at her sister and her former husband.

The two immediately stopped what they were doing, and the girlpulled up her track pants.

When the woman confronted them, the accused brushed her offand left the flat.

She then questioned the victim and made a police report.

The man was arrested the same day.

The court heard that the victim, now 15, would stay with theaccused's family or with one of her other sisters.

Both the incidents, in November and December 2002, occurredwhile she was staying with the accused.

She was sleeping in the living room when she felt someonestroking her.

She opened her eyes and saw the accused, who then raped her.

Another rape and two other charges of having sex with a girlunder 16 were taken into consideration.

The accused could have been jailed for up to 20 years andcaned on each count of rape.

Straits Times, Singapore, 18 January 2006

Sex attacks

Molester 1: Court rejects repeat offender's bid to settle case by cash

JAILED: Chng, previously convicted of rape and other sexoffences, was jailed for 12 months and fined $2,000.

A CONVICTED sex offender who molested his 15-year-oldneighbour tried to buy his way out of trouble with bottles ofbeer, an apology and a $1,000 cash settlement.

But a judge refused to let him off the hook so easily.

Odd-job man Chng Hock Choon, 52, was charged with two countsof outraging the girl's modesty, one count each of usingthreatening words and abusive words, disorderly behaviour, aswell as criminal intimidation for swinging a glass bottle at thevictim.

A district court heard on Monday that the victim and her oldersister were chatting outside their flat on March 4 last year whenChng yelled vulgarities at them.

Chng later told the teen he wanted to have sex with her, andthreatened to get gangsters to beat her up if she refused.

When the girl refused and told him not to cause trouble, Chngspewed vulgarities at her.

He then stroked her back, face and hair even though she pushedhis hand away and screamed at him not to touch her.

When she rushed into her flat and shut the door, Chng kickedand banged on it for a few minutes.

A while later, the girl came out of the flat to seek help, butChng was there and swung a bottle at her. She then fled.

Chng's lawyer told another court earlier that Chng and thevictim's brother-in-law were drinking buddies. Chng, he said, hadbought a few bottles of beer for the victim's family, and thematter had been settled in the presence of the victim and hermother.

He added that the victim's family had accepted Chng's apologywith a handshake and he had also offered to pay the girl $1,000.

The lawyer disclosed these details when he applied for a'composition', in which he asked for the molestation andintimidation charges to be compounded.

[...]

However, the prosecution in this case objected, citing Chng'scriminal record for rape and other sexual offences.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Stella Tan Wei Ling said Chng hadbeen jailed 12 years and given for rape and unnatural sex offencesin 1989, but he had not learnt from his mistakes.

He had also been jailed in 1984 for outraging modesty, finedin 2000 for disorderly behaviour, and jailed three years laterfor a similar offence.

[...]

Straits Times, Singapore, 18 January 2006

Molester 2: Foreign worker jailed for preying on women

A BANGLADESHI construction worker who molested a 24-year-oldwoman was nabbed shortly after the victim told her boyfriendabout it.

Aminul Islam Nurul Islam, 34, was cycling towards the womanalong Jurong West Street 64 when he stretched out his hand andtouched her right breast at about 12.30am on Dec 15 last year.

Shocked, the woman shouted at him but he cycled away.

[...]

In court yesterday, Aminul Islam pleaded guilty to two countsof outrage of modesty, and had a third taken into consideration.

He had similarly touched the right breast of a 21-year-oldwoman while cycling past her along Boon Lay Place near Summerdalecondominium, at about 10.45pm on Nov 20.

In imposing a deterrent sentence of nine months' jail and of theoffences, District Judge Wong Keen Onn said his acts werepremeditated and that he had preyed on women walking at night onthree different occasions.

Aminul Islam, who will serve a total of 18 months' jail andget six strokes, could have been jailed for up to two years andfined or caned on each charge.

Straits Times, Singapore, 20 January 2006

Sex-change drug dealer spared cane

By Elena Chong

THE fate of a prostitute hung in the air for weeks while thecourt awaited a medical report to say if she was a man or awoman.

Thai prostitute Mongkon Pusuwan, 37, was charged with drugtrafficking last month.

Men guilty of that offence are caned. But Mongkon, with herlong hair, looked every inch a woman.

The problem was her passport identified her as a male. Thailaw does not recognise sex change - which was what Mongkonunderwent 10 years ago. But in Singapore, she could not be canedif she was a woman. Her case was adjourned and she was sent formedical examination.

A doctor confirmed she was a woman. So she escaped caning -but not jail.

District Judge Bala Reddy sentenced her to six years' jail onWednesday after she pleaded guilty to four charges - traffickingin 1.52g of cocaine and 25 tablets containing 2.5g of ketamine,possessing 0.06g of Ice and taking Ice on Dec 7 last year.

[...]