A young Singaporean male who tried to rape an acquaintance from Taiwan after taking her to a hotel at the end of a drinking session has had his sentence increased by the High Court, Asia One reports.
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Ng Jun Xian, 21, was initially sentenced to seven years in jail and six strokes of the cane by a district court in October last year for sexual assault and attempted rape.
Yesterday, the court allowed the prosecution’s appeal for a stiffer punishment, sentencing Ng to 8½ years’ jail and nine strokes of the cane for the sexual offences committed in November 2014.
A separate jail term of two weeks for riotous behavior in an unrelated incident remains unchanged.
A few weeks before the sexual assault, Ng, then aged 20 and doing full-time national service, had met the victim at a club in Orchard Hotel. He exchanged phone numbers with the 23-year-old victim, who was in Singapore on a tourist pass to visit her boyfriend.
At about 2.30am on Nov 8, Ng sent her a text message asking her to meet at the club. Together with a friend of Ng’s, they drank until 4am, when she wanted to return to her hostel in Serangoon.
Ng suggested taking her to a hotel where she could rest. The victim agreed after he assured her that she would be left alone to sleep.
The trio took a taxi to Hotel 81 in Lavender Street. While his friend was out smoking, Ng and the victim went to a room. She lay down on the bed and told Ng to leave but he tried to kiss her, and groped her. The victim struggled, repeatedly shouting in Mandarin: “Don’t want, don’t want, don’t touch me.”
Her shouts were heard by Ng’s friend who banged on the door but got no response. Ng sat on top of the victim and tried to rape her but did not succeed.
When she broke free, he grabbed her, slapped her across her left cheek and pushed her back on the bed. Shortly after she threw a coffee cup at Ng during their struggle, he suddenly knelt in front of her and apologized. She took the chance to dress, then left the room. She made a police report at about 8.30am that day.
Ng also appealed against his sentence, asking for reformative training instead, but it was dismissed.
