By Khushwant Singh
FIVE members of a family, accused of insulting the modesty of a
51-year-old woman by forcing their way into the bathroom of their
home, dragging her out nude and calling her names, have been
granted a discharge amounting to an acquittal.
The defendants were a 64-year-old retiree, his three daughters
aged 32 to 38 and his son, 29; accused along with them was the
son's ex-girlfriend, 30.
The alleged victim, the retiree's wife, became his ex-wife last
August, with their divorce becoming final.
In passing judgement on Tuesday, District Judge Hamidah Ibrahim
said the woman who alleged the abuse had failed to prove her case
beyond reasonable doubt; the six thus stood to be acquitted.
The court heard that the woman had married the retiree, a
widower, in 2004, making her the stepmother to his grown-up
children, with whom she had a rocky relationship.
Mr Willie Yeo, the lawyer representing the family members, told
the court that when she failed to get the court to impose a monthly
maintenance payment from her husband, she collectively accused the
family of insulting her modesty in a Magistrate's Complaint in
March 2008.