Source: The New
Paper
THE five youths were facing up to 20 years in
jail after they claimed trial to charges of rape and sexual assault
of a 17-year-old girl.
But in a surprising twist yesterday morning, they pleaded guilty to
one charge each of aggravated outrage of modesty.
The victim had earlier been giving her testimony via
video-conference behind closed doors.
Then the decision was taken to abort the trial. No reason was given
in court yesterday.
The five accused – Muhammad Shafie Ahmad Abdullah, 19, Mohd
Sadruddin Azman, 20, Lim Boon Tai, 21, Rishi Mohan, 18, and Mohamed
Firdaus Roslan, 19, – committed the offence between 4am and 6am on
Dec 26, 2008.
Their trial began on Nov 17, 2009, almost a year after their
arrests on Dec 30, 2008.
The courtroom was packed yesterday and it was a sea of black in the
lawyers’ arena as the seven lawyers representing the five accused
took their places beside the three deputy public prosecutors
(DPPs).
About 35 friends and supporters of the youths filled the public
gallery to the brim.
In the dock, the accused remained expressionless as graphic details
of how they took turns to sexually assault the victim were read
aloud in court.
Occasionally, they looked down to check their own copy of the
statement of facts.
Lim even took the chance to ask the court to amend one part of the
statement.
The case was later adjourned for their mitigation.
Shafie and Sadruddin have been in remand since their arrest. The
other three are out on bail.
Each faces up to 10 years in jail and caning for aggravated outrage
of modesty, compared to 20 years jail with caning if they had been
convicted of rape and sexual assault.
For the victim, it was the nightmare after Christmas when the five
youths took advantage of her drunken state and sexually assaulted
her for about two hours.
Three of them took turns to have sex with her, while the remaining
two made her perform oral sex on them.
The girl was left bleeding after the vicious attack and was so
nauseated that she retched over a toilet bowl.
A psychiatrist who examined her after the incident said she
developed post-traumatic stress disorder as a result.
Yesterday, the court was told that around 11pm on Christmas night
in 2008, the girl left her boyfriend’s home after spending the day
with him.
She was heading home on a bus when she received a phone call from
Lim, who identified himself as “Jonathan”.
Lim, then a full-time national serviceman, lied that he was her
schoolmate and invited her to have supper with him in
Woodlands.
He had got her number from another accused, whom the girl
knew.
One of the accused persons met her at Woodlands bus interchange
after midnight and they took a taxi to Shafie’s flat in Block 723,
Woodlands Avenue 6.
Shafie’s parents were away visiting relatives in Malaysia.
Seeing five other guys inside the flat, the girl was initially
reluctant to enter, but eventually went in and sat near the
door.
At Lim’s request, Shafie and Sadruddin left the flat to buy liquor.
Firdaus left with them to meet his girlfriend.
When Shafie and Sadruddin returned with a bottle of vodka, three
bottles of beer and two bottles of soft drinks, the group of five
started playing card games and a game of Truth or Dare.
The forfeit? The loser had to drink a cup of vodka cocktail.
The girl ended up drinking more than five disposable plastic cups
of the drink.
She felt her head spinning and her vision was affected.
Some time during the game, the girl was challenged to kiss Lim, but
she refused.
Knock on the door
At that moment, Firdaus returned to the flat and knocked on the
door.
The group panicked as they thought Shafie’s parents had returned.
Lim then hid in Shafie’s bedroom with the girl.
Inside the bedroom, Lim made sexual advances towards her.
Said DPP Christina Koh: “The victim initially felt pressurised but
she eventually became aroused and allowed (Lim) to have sex with
her.”
Outside the room, the other five youths had their ears pressed
against the door and were listening in on the couple.
Lim and the girl later came out. Around 4am, Lim carried the
victim, who was resting on a wooden bench back into the
bedroom.
The five accused persons gathered in the room, which was
dark.
When Lim asked the girl to lie down beside him on a mattress on the
floor, she said she did not want to.
But he pulled her down from the chair onto the mattress, lay beside
her and started kissing her.
Someone then said “let’s start” and on hearing the cue, they
stripped the girl.
Holding her head and legs down, they then took turns to sexually
assault her.
They were so calm and cool in their savage attack that when one guy
was done, he went to the toilet to wash up while the next guy took
his place.
At times, she was even assaulted by two guys at the same
time.
Her blood was found on the mattress, which was seized by
investigators.
After the assault, Lim carried the naked girl and helped her to
wash up in the toilet.
In the toilet, she “felt weak and numb and she leaned against the
toilet bowl...and retched”.
Said DPP Koh: “At this time, she was scared and lost. She was also
shivering and nauseous.”
Lim then gave her $10 to take a taxi home.
After returning home, the girl told her boyfriend about the assault
and he called the police.
