July 15, 2024
SINGAPORE – A 67-year-old man has been accused of raping his domestic helper, who was then 35 years old, after offering her wine and “supplement” injections.
The man, who is not represented by a lawyer, is contesting the allegations in a trial that opened in the High Court on July 9.
The incident allegedly took place on the night of Jan 5, 2020, when the maid was alone at home with the man while the rest of his family was overseas.
The man faces five charges – two for rape, one for sexual assault by penetration, and two for outrage of modesty.
He cannot be named owing to a gag order to protect the woman’s identity.
The alleged victim was the first witness to take the stand. Her testimony was heard in camera, meaning it was out of bounds to the public and the media.
In its opening statement, the prosecution alleged that on the night in question, the man invited the maid to watch television with him, and offered her wine.
The man then offered her “supplement” injections, which she accepted, said the prosecution, led by Deputy Public Prosecutor James Chew.
After giving her the injections on a sofa in the living room, the man sexually assaulted her, said the prosecution.
“The victim did not consent to any of the sexual acts, but was unable to resist the accused as she was feeling too giddy and weak from what she had consumed,” said the opening statement.
The statement did not give further details on the injections.
Prosecutors alleged that the man later carried the maid back to her room and placed her on her bed.
The prosecution said it would present closed-circuit TV footage capturing the assault, as well as the man’s admissions in his video-recorded interviews.
In particular, the CCTV footage from the living room would show that the man had performed the sexual acts on the woman while she was in a very weakened and unresponsive state, and that the acts were not consensual, said the prosecution.
Footage from the camera in the maid’s bedroom would show that before he gave her the injections, the man had deliberately shifted the camera in her room to face away from her bed.
The prosecution contended that this indicates that he had already formed the intention to commit the sexual acts against the woman.
The maid’s sister, whom the purported victim called at about 4am that night, would testify as to her distressed state at the time, said the prosecution.
The prosecution said the maid told her employer and her employer’s sister about the offences on Jan 8, 2020, immediately after they returned to the unit.
A video clip capturing part of their conversation would be presented in court, said prosecutors.
The statement did not specify the relationship between the maid’s employer and the accused.
Prosecutors said the maid was taken to make a police report on Jan 9, 2020. On the same night, she was taken to the National University Hospital for a medical examination.
The prosecution will also call two doctors from Changi General Hospital who had examined the accused in relation to his erectile dysfunction condition.
The doctors would testify that it was possible for the man to have had penetrative sex with the woman at the time, said the prosecutors.
The prosecution added that the man admitted to having sex with the woman in his video-recorded interviews.