Nov 29, 2008
19-year-old was so drunk she could do nothing to stop
assault
By Sujin Thomas
A NINETEEN-YEAR-OLD became so drunk at a birthday party in
September last year that she could do nothing as she was raped and
molested by two party guests.
In a district court yesterday, one man pleaded guilty to raping her
and the other, to outraging her modesty.
To protect her identity, the parties cannot be named.
Court documents said she had gone to a party, where she met her
boyfriend, who was also invited.
Later, the couple joined the host and two of his friends, both 21,
for a card game in which the loser of each round had to drink a
glass of whisky. The girl, an unseasoned drinker, soon became
drunk. At her boyfriend's suggestion, she went to a bedroom to
sleep it off.
Early the following morning, the host's two friends entered the
bedroom and shut the door.
One of them first kissed her and molested her as she lay sleeping.
The man, who is married with two young children, then took off her
underwear and proceeded to rape her. The other man also kissed her
and fondled her breasts.
Shocked, the girl woke up but was so drunk that she could do little
to resist their advances.
After a while, the pair left the room and the girl fell asleep
again.
When she awoke, she burst into tears and told her boyfriend ? who
had been in the next room all the time ? what had happened. She was
then taken to a hospital for a check-up and a police report was
lodged.
A day later, the two men met the girl to apologise and plead with
her to withdraw her complaint against them. She refused to give
them an answer.
The men then set up another meeting to persuade her to tell the
police that she had consented to their advances. It was the only
way to 'settle the matter', one of them told her.
The girl's boyfriend tipped off the police to the meeting, and the
pair were arrested.
They will be sentenced on Dec 3.
In a district court, a person convicted of rape faces up to 10
years in jail and either a fine or caning. A person convicted of
molestation can be jailed for up to two years and caned.
sigh! things like this wouldn't have happened if both the girl
and her boyfriend have taken the following precautions.
1) being a woman, she should never have gotten herself
so dead-drunk at any party.
2) being an unseasoned drinker, her boyfriend should protect her
from getting too drunk.
3) she should not have stayed overnight in an unfamiliar place
with unfamiliar people. her boyfriend should have sent her straight
back home, if possible.
4) if not, her boyfriend should have guarded her throughout the
night in that room, instead of staying in the next room. he should
also keep the room locked from inside to prevent unauthorised
access.
what a lousy boyfriend he makes, if he can't even protect his
girlfriend from harm. and the girlfriend should have some common
sense on how to better protect herself from being an easy target
for sexual assault.
even after the offenders have been charged in court, i worry
about how the victim is going to carry on with her life and
relationship as normal. the damage has already been done. it will
be a permanent psychological scar that will stay with her for the
rest of her life, on top of other worries of unwanted pregnancies
and/or sexually-transmitted diseases.
it's sad..... but blame it on self-negligience and naviety.
indeed, this is a hefty price to pay for such a lesson.
