He was so brutal that...
S'porean
raped 3 China women who came here with high
hopes
SHE arrived in Singapore at 3.35am last November with dreams of
furthering her education.
Less than nine hours later, around noon, the China national was
brutally raped and sodomised.
One of her first encounters with a Singaporean man - the Beast of
Balestier - has left her scarred for life.
Likewise, his two other victims, also China nationals who came here
with dreams of a better education.
One of them was a virgin.
All three now carry such deep psychological scars that their lives
will never be the same again.
What Ser Eng Siong did to them was so violent and horrendous that
much of it cannot be reported in a family newspaper.
According to psychiatric reports tendered during Ser's trial, all
three have trouble sleeping. And when they do, they have recurring
nightmares.
They became depressed and withdrawn, and two showed signs of
post-traumatic stress.
One felt life was meaningless while another ran in fear when she
spotted a man with tinted hair in a crowded place. She had mistaken
the man for her rapist.
Last week, Ser, 33, was sentenced to 28 years in jail and 24
strokes of the cane for his heinous acts.
The delivery man committed his crimes in the Balestier area, with
the first on 3 Nov last year.
He tricked his way into a hostel room where an 18-year-old girl had
just moved in after arriving from China.
She was sleeping alone in her room around noon when Ser woke her by
knocking on her window.
He told her that he was there to do some repairwork.
After she let him in, he pretended to fiddle with the gas canister
in the kitchen.
When she returned to her room, he rushed in after her and closed
the door.
Ser then raped and sodomised her several times in her room. He also
forced her to perform oral sex on him.
Later, she ran to the toilet and locked the door. But he forced her
to open it and then raped her again in the toilet.
WIPED FINGERPRINTS
When he was finally done, he used tissue to wipe surfaces he had
touched.
He told his terrified victim that he was destroying evidence so he
could not be traced.
Before he fled in a pick-up, he also told her he was a Malaysian
and was leaving Singapore immediately.
The victim is now fearful of men and has became quiet and
withdrawn, said Dr Bernardine Woo, a consultant psychiatrist with
the Child Guidance Clinic, who assessed her.
She added that the traumatic experience could lead to problems with
interpersonal relationships and intimacy later in the victim's
life.
Despite his attempt to wipe away evidence, Ser left fingerprints at
the scene which led police to his identity as he had previous
convictions for theft.
But before the police could track him down, Ser struck again on 11
Nov.
This time, he gained entry by pretending to ask for someone.
COINCIDENCE
Coincidentally, the name he used, Xiao Chen, belonged to a previous
occupant of the rented apartment.
He then attacked the woman, 20, who let him in.
He dragged her to the toilet where he strangled her till she
fainted.
He then raped her.
While she lay unconscious on the bathroom floor, he went to her
room and took her handphone and $50 before going to another bedroom
where her flatmate, 22, was asleep.
He crept up and strangled her. She was jolted awake and struggled.
She then bit one of Ser's fingers till it bled.
After subduing her, Ser bandaged his finger, then tore off part of
the bedsheet and tied her hands to the wooden pole of the
bed.
He then returned to the toilet where the first flatmate had
regained consciousness.
Ser choked her till she fainted again, then violated her with a
toothbrush.
After this, Ser returned to the bedroom where his other victim was
tied up.
He told her he had killed her flatmate before raping and sodomising
her. He also forced her to perform oral sex on him.
Ser was arrested in Geylang a day after he attacked the two
women.
The 20-year-old, a virgin before the attack, blamed herself for
letting Ser into the apartment.
Dr Joshua Kua, a consultant psychiatrist with the Institute of
Mental Health, noted how she had felt that life was meaningless,
although she was not actively suicidal.
Now, she startles whenever someone opens the door suddenly. She
also avoids going to the toilet when she is alone at home.
Dr Kua noted that she has developed an adjustment disorder with
depressed mood as a result of the brutal assault.
Her flatmate now suffers from post-traumatic stress and major
depressive disorder, said Dr Kua in his report.
She has recurrent and distressing recollections of the traumatic
event.
She dreamt about the brutal incident despite moving out of the
apartment where the rapes took place.
NIGHT TRAUMA
When night falls, she shivers in fear as she lies on her bed and
has difficulty falling asleep.
She is socially withdrawn, has lost her appetite and weight, and is
also afraid of taking the lift alone and avoids bathing when she is
alone at home.
She also panicked and ran when she saw a man she thought was her
attacker.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Careless because S'pore feels so safe
SLEAZY, scumbag, shameless and beast.
That's what some China women who live in Balestier are calling
serial rapist Ser Eng Siong.
The 33-year-old Singaporean had raped three China women living in
the area last year.
Miss Ice Chen, who lives near one of the victims, was shocked to
read about how Ser had entered the homes of his victims so
easily.
Said the 22-year-old student in Mandarin: 'Many China women feel
that Singapore is a safe country with a low crime rate. Maybe
that's why they opened their doors to the rapist so easily.
'Furthermore, the rape took place in the morning when most people
would not be on their guard.'
Miss Chen, who is from Hangzhou, added that she probably would have
done the same.
She chose to stay in the Balestier area after noticing the high
number of Chinese nationals there.
The rent in Balestier is considered cheap for its accessibilty to
town.
The area is also well-known for its good food and many eateries
which remain open till the wee hours.
Another Chinese national, who wanted to be known only as Xiao Shan,
felt that Balestier is not as 'complicated' as Geylang.
The 29-year-old who works here as a nurse has also read about Ser
in the newspapers.
WARNING
She said in Mandarin: 'The incident serves as a warning to us not
to open doors to strangers.
'In fact, we had all been told that since young.
'I've noticed how some women sleep with their windows open. Maybe
their apartments do not have air-conditioning. That can invite
unwanted attention.'
She added: 'Nowadays, I would check that I've locked all the
windows and doors before I sleep.'
Added her friend Xiao Xiao, 20, a student: 'I am glad that the
rapist has been caught and put behind bars.
'Or else I would still be living in fear after what he did to his
victims.'