Singapore jails man for 16 years over gang rape of 2 drunk teenage girls

The victims were aged 14 to 16 and were in a drunken state at the time of the reported offences – some of whom were plied with alcohol by Uzair or one of the co-accused persons. The names of the victims cannot be published under a court order to protect their identities.

In her short oral judgment to explain the sentence, Justice Mavis Chionh on Friday described Uzair’s actions as “nothing short of reprehensible”.

“It is clear the accused preyed on young victims,” she said, adding that he had “no compunction” in exploiting them when they were defenceless.

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The court heard that the two rape offences happened in the first half of 2021 at a one-room flat belonging to Noor Asri Mohd Tahil, who was a friend of Uzair’s and a co-accused aged 33 at the time.

On the night of June 12, 2021, the first victim, a 16-year-old secondary school student, had gone out drinking at a public park with two female friends and a few others whom she had met for the first time.

They later went to Asri’s home located nearby at his invitation, although the victim, who was already drunk at that point, initially declined.

When they reached his home, the group continued drinking. Although the victim declined to drink again, the court heard that Asri allegedly poured whisky into her mouth by force.

The victim was so drunk that she had to be assisted to the toilet.

At one point, she called another friend to pick her up from the place, while two of the female friends accompanying her left.

After the two friends left, the victim was allegedly taken to the makeshift bedroom by force by another co-accused, Mohamed Shahridzmie Salleh, a friend of Uzair who was also 18 at that time.

Uzair, who was in the hall separated from the room by a partition, heard the victim crying “I don’t want” when forcefully brought to a bed, the court heard.

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Shahridzmie allegedly molested and sexually assaulted her despite her protests. Asri was said to have joined in, along with Uzair, to sexually abuse the victim.

Some of the sexual acts were done consecutively while some were done simultaneously, the court heard.

The prosecution told the court that throughout the ordeal, the victim was drifting in and out of consciousness and “felt that she was being passed around” and violated by several men.

The ordeal ended when her friends arrived to pick her up. A confrontation ensued between her friends and the men, which escalated until a passer-by called the police in the early hours of June 13, 2021.

Uzair was arrested on the same day and has been in remand since then.

The prosecution said that a psychiatric report found the victim to be suffering from symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder. She also felt jumpy when thinking about the assaults, and avoid places and people who remind her of the night.

The court heard that the second victim, who was 14 at the time, had put up at Asri’s house because she had run away from home. She was referred to Asri through a friend.

During her stay, she was forced to drink alcohol for the first time and he was said to have committed various sexual acts on her.

Sometime in 2021, Asri, Uzair and a few others gathered there and played a game of “truth or dare”. The victim was pressured to join them.

On the pretext of carrying out dares, Asri allegedly took her to the bedroom and performed sexual acts on her twice despite her initial refusal both times.

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The court heard that she found it “difficult” to say “no” to Asri who had given her shelter and because she had nowhere else to go. She had burst into tears each time she was brought out of the room after the alleged sexual assaults.

During a gathering sometime in May 2021, the court heard that the girl was drinking alcohol with Uzair and a few others at the same flat.

When she was intoxicated to the extent of drifting in and out of consciousness, the teenager was taken into a room and a group of men including Uzair engaged in sexual acts with her without her consent.

The prosecution told the court that Uzair had done so despite knowing that she was not in a state to give consent and was too weak to physically resist them.

The court heard that the offence of sexual penetration of a minor also happened in Asri’s home, in the early hours of May 24 in 2021.

The third victim was someone that Uzair had made sexual advances on for some time but was rejected on several occasions.

This third victim, who was 14 at the time, was given alcoholic drinks by Uzair to the extent that she vomited a few times. Uzair sexually assaulted her while she was still drunk and was unable to push him away.

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Seeking a total jail sentence of between 13.5 years to 15 years and 24 strokes of the cane, the prosecution highlighted the aggravated nature of the offences.

In all three cases, the victims were vulnerable due to their age and state of intoxication.

The two rape offences occurred in a group setting, which “amplified” the trauma felt by the victims.

The prosecution noted how the first victim, in particular, felt helpless to stop the acts done by the group on her due to her state, and had felt the men moving her body around “like a rag doll” for their sexual gratification.

Uzair also exposed the victims to risks of unwanted pregnancy and sexually transmitted disease, the prosecution argued.

Defence counsel Pramnath Vijayakumar pleaded for the court to call for a reformative training report.

If the court would not agree to this, the lawyer, who represented Uzair on a pro-bono basis, sought a lighter sentence of between 11 years four months and 12 years four months in jail and nine strokes of the cane.

The lawyer pointed to Uzair’s young age and his capacity for rehabilitation, adding that he has strong family support for this.

The lawyer also submitted a handwritten letter from Uzair’s parents, who said that their son have helped to support the family financially by working and described him as the “backbone” of the family.

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In delivering her decision, Justice Chionh said that rehabilitation is one of the considerations that the court takes when sentencing young offenders.

However, in certain cases, this consideration can be outweighed by that of deterrence and retribution if the offences are serious, or have caused severe harm, among other possible conditions.

In this case, she agreed with the prosecution’s submissions for a heavier sentence since Uzair had committed multiple serious sexual offences involving multiple young victims, of whom two were subjected to the “aggravated terror” of group-rape.

For each count of rape, he could have been sentenced to up to 20 years’ jail and been liable to a fine and caning.

For sexual penetration of a minor under 16, he could have been jailed up to 10 years or fined, or both.