SINGAPORE: A 31-year-old woman agreed to accompany a
man she met online to a budget hotel, after he reassured her they
were just going there to "kiss".
Little did she know that 37-year-old Ng Han Tong had
more in mind, including sex.
For that, the former IT system analyst, was
sentenced to three years jail and six strokes of the cane, after he
pleaded guilty on Wednesday to a reduced charge of aggravated
molest.
Ng, who is married, got to know the woman through online social
networking site Facebook in January 2010.
The court heard that they started exchanging explicit chats and Ng
was under the impression she was "willing to have sex with a male
friend that she was comfortable with."
Two months later on March 5, 2010, Ng suggested going to a hotel to
"kiss" - which the woman agreed to.
After having drinks at a pub, they proceeded to Hotel 81 at Jiak
Chuan Road, where they kissed and Ng started to undress her,
despite attempts to push him away. Ng then proceeded to have
unprotected sex with her.
The woman left the hotel angry and told her friends the next day
that she had been raped. A police report was made.
Ng's lawyer, Mr R S Wijaya, said Ng had "acted in a moment of
folly" and assumed the woman was "comfortable to have sex".
However, Deputy Public Prosecutor Sabrina Choo disputed this,
saying her agreeing to the kiss should not be inferred as consent
to have sex.
A psychiatric report revealed Ng suffered from an adjustment
disorder and was stressed over the inability to conceive with his
wife.
The court heard Ng coped with these tendencies in a "dysfunctional
way" such as drinking and contacting women he knew online and in
pubs.
For his offence, Ng could have been sentenced up to ten years jail
and caned.
-CNA/ac
